India vs New Zealand 1st T20I 2017: 5 reasons why India won in Delhi

The first T20 International between India and New Zealand turned out to be a special outing for the Men in Blue. It was not because they were comprehensively able to beat the Kiwis, but for the fact that it was India’s maiden victory in T20Is against New Zealand in six attempts.

Before the start of the game, the odds were stacked against India, based on New Zealand’s dominance over the hosts this format. However, the hosts have been on a rampage and hence on current form, they clearly had the upper hand. The Indian batting did not disappoint as they posted a massive total of 202.

Thereafter, the Indian bowlers choked the Kiwi batsmen and never allowed them to get going in their chase. The hosts, eventually, restricted the Kiwis to a modest score of 149/8 and won the game by 53 runs.

In the slideshow, we take a look at five reasons why India won the game at the Feroz Shah Kotla. 

#5 Spinners turning the screws on the New Zealand batsmen

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Chahal was brilliant with the ball

When T20 cricket came to the fore, spinners were expected to be bashed into ignominy. However, as the format has grown, the essence of spinners has escalated, so much so that they have turned out to be crucial elements of a bowling lineup. On a flat pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the Indian spinners bowled magnificently to put a lid on the Kiwi batsmen.

Yuzvendra Chahal has been outstanding for India in limited-overs cricket and he replicated the same form in the first T20. He bowled the second over in New Zealand’s run-chase and immediately got rid of Martin Guptill. He also nipped out the wicket of Tom Latham and returned with figures of 4-0-26-2.

Axar Patel was also outstanding with the ball and hardly dished out freebies to the Kiwi batsmen. With the wickets of Tom Bruce and Colin de Grandhomme, he also finished with excellent bowling figures of 4-0-20-2. 

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