3 Indian players who flopped in the 3rd T20I vs New Zealand
Team India secured another bilateral triumph as the third T20I against New Zealand in Napier on Tuesday, November 22 ended in a tie. By virtue of their 65-run win in the second T20I on Sunday, the Men in Blue claimed the series with a 1-0 scoreline.
Pacers Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh ran the show for India, scalping four wickets each. They were involved in the field as well, with the former claiming a direct hit and the latter taking a good catch. In the chase, captain Hardik Pandya calmed the side's nerves with an unbeaten 30 after the loss of a few early wickets.
However, others failed to deliver. Here are three Indian players who flopped in the third T20I against New Zealand.
#3 Shreyas Iyer
A player with such a glaring weakness cannot be part of an international side. Shreyas Iyer's short-ball woes continued to haunt him in Napier, days after he stepped on his own stumps after being pushed deep into the crease by Lockie Ferguson.
In the third T20I, Shreyas walked in with the score reading 21/2 in the third over, with Tim Southee having just bounced out Rishabh Pant. There was little doubt as to the lengths the Kiwi stand-in skipper would bowl to the new batter. Off his very first ball, India's No. 4 guided a chest-high delivery from Southee straight to Jimmy Neesham, who took a tumbling catch at wide slip.
Shreyas might still be able to work around the holes in his game in ODIs but he seems to be a sitting duck in the shortest format, where he needs to play his shots. It might be in India's best interests to drop him from the T20I side in favor of names like Sanju Samson.
#2 Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan was India's top scorer in the second T20I, although he came under fire for his strike rate. Given another chance to make a mark, the young southpaw wasn't under much scoreboard pressure but squandered his opportunity to be dismissed for a 11-ball 10.
Adam Milne troubled Kishan in the second over, hitting the batter on the shoulder with a well-directed short ball and beating the inside edge shortly after. The last ball of the over was bound to be short and fast, and the opener fell into the trap even though the short square boundaries were in his favor.
Kishan went for an almighty pull but only managed a top edge that was taken on the rope by Mark Chapman. His game against pace directed at his body has been questioned before, and one thing is for certain - he has a lot of work to do before he becomes a reliable T20I opener.
#1 Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal warmed the bench throughout the 2022 T20 World Cup, performances like this one justify the team management's decision. The leg-spinner leaked 35 runs in the three overs he bowled in Napier as he erred in both directions.
Chahal alternated between overpitched deliveries and rank long-hops as Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips targeted the short square boundaries with ease. Conway hit him for fours on either side of the wicket off balls on either end of the pitch, while Phillips slammed him for a four and a six off the last two deliveries of the 13th over.
Chahal has been sub-par for almost two years now, and with bowlers like Ravi Bishnoi waiting in the wings, his days seem numbered.