Ind vs NZ 2nd T20: Unnoticed things from the Second T20 between India and NZ
After taking a one-match lead in the series during the first game, the Kiwis took on the Indian team at Auckland for the second T20I.
The Blackcaps won the toss and elected to bat first in this extremely small ground. Both the teams fielded an unchanged XI and India kicked off the second T20I in a great style as they followed the first two economical overs with the wicket of last match's man of the match Tim Seifert.
Continuing this initial momentum, the Indian captain Rohit Sharma handed over the ball to Krunal Pandya in the last over of the powerplay. This turned out to be a masterstroke as the Baroda-born dismissed two batsmen in the same over. However, Colin de Grandhomme, the batting all-rounder took charge and upped the ante as he went on to score a half-century off just 28 balls.
The Indian pace attack bowled beautifully in the slog overs and didn't allow the NZ batsmen to increase the tempo. Despite some really good batting display by some Kiwi batsmen, the hosts were eventually restricted on the score of 158.
Chasing 158, the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan came out to bat with the hopes of levelling the series. Whilst Shikhar Dhawan looked to farm the strike from one end, Rohit Sharma was in full mood to smash the Kiwi bowler all over the park. The visitors had a wonderful start as they were 50 without any loss by the end of the first powerplay.
The Indian captain soon went on to complete his 50 in just 28 balls. However, both the openers were soon sent back to the pavilion at regular intervals. After their dismissal, Vijay Shankar looked in a great form but was dismissed by Daryl Mitchell. Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni then combined together and steadily took India to finish line with 8 balls to spare and took India to victory.
Here are a few incidents that might have gone unnoticed:
1) Krunal Pandya became the 1st Indian bowler to pick 3 wickets in a T20I match in NZ
Krunal Pandya's performance has been quite good in recent times. Although the lad has had a short international career till now, he has done well in almost all the international matches played by him. The 27-year-old all-rounder has played 7 T20I matches and has taken 9 wickets till today.
Krunal played brilliantly in the 2nd T20I against New Zealand as well. The Baroda-born took 3 crucial wickets in the match. In his 4-over spell, the senior Pandya conceded 28 runs and dismissed dangerous-looking batsmen like Colin Munro, Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson. He was also the second most economical bowler from India's side. He also became the only bowler to pick 3 wickets in a T20I on the Kiwi soil.