SK Play of the day: Mitchell Santner reverses catching fortunes before coming up with an audacious fielding effort
New Zealand's Mitchell Santner made up for the dropped chances in the last couple of matches by plucking two out of the thin air to get rid of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma on consecutive deliveries of a Tim Southee over. He then came up with an eye-catching fielding effort to save a boundary and help Grandhomme pick one catch.
After the third and deciding T20I of the three-match series was cut short to eight overs due to rain, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson invited India to bat first. With eight only eight overs to play, the Indian openers had the license to let loose from the first delivery. However, a tight first over from Trent Boult saw the opening pair add up only seven runs.
Subsequently, Santner came on for the second over and got the ball to grip and turn from the word go. What the Dhawan-Rohit duo could manage was just another seven runs, intensifying the scoreboard pressure upon them. Southee, who was asked to bowl the third over for his side by skipper Williamson started with an off-cutter and Rohit went into the pull early, only to mistime it for a single.
Southee, employing the same strategy he used in the last match at Rajkot, followed up with another cutter, which Dhawan skied and Santner, running behind, managed to hold on to the ball on the edge of the 30-yard circle. Because the batsmen had crossed, Rohit took the strike for the next delivery of the over.
Another off-cutter and Rohit hoiked it towards the deep square leg where Santner was stationed, who dived in to complete the catch, handing India twin blows. While Dhawan scored six runs in as many deliveries, his opening partner managed eight runs in nine balls.
After Southee's twin strike, left-arm spinner Ish Sodhi bagged a couple of wickets for himself, that of Virat Kohli, who scored 13 in eight deliveries and Shreyas Iyer, who scored run-a-ball six.
India, by the end of seventh over, had managed to somehow reach a total of 61 runs and Boult ran in to bowl the last over of the match. On the second delivery of it, Manish Pandey pulled a shorter delivery between long-on and deep mid-wicket. Santner, running in from long-on dived towards his right to cushion the ball just enough so that it falls into Colin de Grandhomme's hands.
Santner's two overs for just 16 runs and the three catches he played a part in certainly pegged the Indians back, who managed 67 runs in the eight overs.