India vs New Zealand 2017, 2nd T20I: 5 things we learnt from the match
Colin Munro smashed his second T20I hundred and Trent Boult dismantled the Indian top order to help New Zealand level the three-match T20I series at Rajkot. Opting to bat first on a flat surface, Munro and Martin Guptill put on 105 in 11 overs before the latter fell to Chahal. The southpaw carried on in the same vein and completed his second T20I hundred to take New Zealand to a competitive 196.
India had managed a 201-run chase against Australia in a T20I on this ground and with the kind of firepower they boast, the target never seemed out of reach until Trent Boult ran in hard to send Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma back in the same over. From 11/2, Shreyas Iyer, with a slew of cut shots, and Virat Kohli, tried to resurrect the innings but Munro broke that partnership with a well disguised slower ball that ended Iyer's outing. Kohli tried his best to take India close but found no ally as New Zealand sealed the game by 40 runs.
#5 Colin Munro sizzling in new role
There are several things New Zealand have done right in this series that their predecessors failed to do. Most prominent among them is the switch in batting positions between Tom Latham and Colin Munro. Latham, an exceptional player of spin, was pushed to the middle-order and Munro was freed up to open the innings.
The move not only helped them counter India's spinners but also enabled Munro to have a full go at the Indian opening bowlers. He did quite well in the ODIs but at Rajkot, the southpaw took it to an entirely different level by scything through the Indian attack to notch up a second T20I century, this one taking the visitors to a threatening 196. Only three other batsmen have two T20I hundreds and Munro joins a rather special list with his stunning knock.