India vs New Zealand 2019, 1st T20: India get a shameful record against their name
The first match of the three-match T20 series between India and New Zealand was played at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday. In the match, New Zealand defeated India by 80 runs.
Everything went according to plan for New Zealand in this match. India won the toss and put them in to bat first. The hosts put a huge score of 219/6 in 20 overs on the board. This is also the highest score for New Zealand in T20 international matches. Earlier, their highest score in T20I cricket was 215, surpassing their previous best total they made against Sri Lanka on March 10, 2018, in Colombo. The strong batting order of the Indian team could not chase the target and were limited to 139 in 19.2 overs. New Zealand opener Tim Seifert, who scored 84 runs, was adjudged the Man of the Match for his outstanding innings. Besides Seifert, Colin Munro and Kane Williamson scored 34 runs each.
India lost the game by 80 runs. This was India's biggest defeat in T20 matches in terms of runs. Prior to this, the Indian team lost by 49 runs against Australia in Bridgetown on May 7, 2010.
Although, the Kiwi team has forced India to big defeats earlier as well. In 2016, India lost to Kiwis in Nagpur by 47 runs, and by 40 runs in Rajkot in 2017. In terms of wickets, India has lost by nine wickets on three occasions, once against the West Indies and twice against the Australians. All the three matches were played outside India.
The second T20 match of the three-match T20 series will be played in Auckland on Friday.