India vs New Zealand 2019: 3 reasons why India lost the third T20I
We saw a terrific game of cricket as the T20I series decider went right down to the wire. The New Zealand bowlers eventually held their nerve and helped their team win the last game by a slender margin of four runs.
Rohit Sharma won the toss at Hamilton and decided to chase. New Zealand started off really well as their openers put up a fifty-run partnership. The platform was set and as a result, the Kiwis got to a huge total of 212-4.
Also Read: Twitter reacts as India fell short of New Zealand's massive total by just 4 runs
Chasing 213, India lost the early wicket of Dhawan. However, Rohit and Vijay Shankar built an important partnership. The Men in Blue lost a few key wickets in the middle-overs but took the game to the last over where they required 16.
Time Southee, who bowled the last over, kept his nerve and defended well. New Zealand won the decider and the series with a margin of 2-1. India will be slightly disappointed that they couldn’t finish the tour on a win. However, they still had their moments in the T20I series.
Let’s have a look at the three reasons as to why India lost the final T20I and consequently the series as well.
#3 The Kiwis got off to a flier with the bat
The New Zealand openers got off to a great start just as they did in the first T20I at Wellington. Colin Munro made his intentions clear in the first over itself as he smashed a six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling to get off the mark.
The Blackcaps didn’t lose a single wicket in the powerplay and scored 66 runs off the first six overs. Krunal Pandya, who bowled the last over of the powerplay, leaked 20 runs off it.
In T20 cricket, the opening bowlers have to get some early wickets which the Indian bowlers failed to do in this game. As a result, the New Zealand openers set up a perfect platform for a huge score. Munro and Tim Seifert had an opening partnership of 80 in quick time. The Kiwis got off to a flier and it played a major role in them winning the decider.