Top 3 T20I batting performances by Team India against New Zealand
With both Team India and New Zealand suffering heartbreaks in their respective semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022, the sides will be keen to put their disappointment behind them and start afresh.
The Men in Blue and the Kiwis will clash in a three-match T20I series in New Zealand starting on Friday, November 18.
The opening game of the series will be played in Wellington, followed by the second match in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, November 20. The T20I series will conclude with the final game in Napier on November 22. The last time India visited New Zealand in 2020, they blanked the Kiwis 5-0 in a five-match T20I series.
There is nothing much to separate the two teams when it comes to their head-to-head record in T20Is. India and New Zealand have met 20 times, with both nations winning nine matches each. Two games have ended in a tie, both of which were won by the Men in Blue in the Super Over.
With Team India and New Zealand all set to resume their T20I rivalry, we look back at three memorable batting performances by the Men in Blue against the Kiwis.
#3 Virat Kohli (70 off 41) - Chennai, September 2012
Virat Kohli scored a terrific 70 off 41 balls in Chennai in the second T20I of the two-match series in Chennai in September 2012. The Men in Blue were set to chase a target of 168 after Brendon McCullum’s 55-ball 91 took the Kiwis to a competitive score
Kohli kept them in the hunt with an excellent knock. Opening the innings, the Team India batter struck 10 fours and a six during his stay at the crease. Kohli kept piercing the gap and found boundaries at regular intervals. He eased to his half-century by chipping down the track to Daniel Vettori and lofting him for an inside-out four. At the halfway stage of their innings, the hosts were well-placed at 86/1.
A couple of overs later, Kohli again charged down the wicket and this time lofted Vettori for a maximum over wide long-off. His fine innings ended when he miscued a big hit off James Franklin. Team India’s score read 120 for three in the 14th over when Kohli walked back. However, despite Yuvraj Singh’s 34, India went down by one run as MS Dhoni struggled, taking 23 balls for his 22*.
The hosts had to get 13 off the last over. Yuvraj fell to the fourth ball of the over bowled by Franklin. Six were needed off the last two balls, but Rohit Sharma managed only four as Kohli’s fine knock went in vain.
#2 Shikhar Dhawan (80 off 52) - Delhi, November 2017
Team India opener Shikhar Dhawan smacked a brilliant 80 off only 52 balls in Delhi in the first T20I of the three-match series in November 2017. New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl first, but Dhawan and Rohit (80 off 55) made the Kiwis regret the decision. The opening pair added 158 for the first wicket in 16.2 overs.
Dhawan struck 10 fours and two sixes in his memorable knock. The left-hander looked in great touch from the start of his innings, hitting Trent Boult for consecutive fours in the second over of the match. Dhawan dominated the opening stand, reaching his fifty in the 12th over, with Rohit still in his 30s.
The southpaw took on leg-spinner Ish Sodhi in the next over and clubbed him for a six over deep midwicket followed by a four swept to square leg. Another six followed off Tim Southee as a good length ball was launched over midwicket.
Dhawan’s fine innings ended when he was foxed by a googly from Sodhi and nicked the delivery to the keeper. Rohit also flourished in the second half of his innings and ended up hitting six fours and four sixes. Kohli contributed 26* off 11 as Team India posted 202/3. The Kiwis were never in the hunt in the chase and finished on 149/8.
#1 Rohit Sharma (65 off 40) - Hamilton, January 2020
Team India opener Rohit scored an excellent 65 off 40 balls in Hamilton in the third T20I of the five-match series in New Zealand in January 2020. However, his contribution with the bat did not end there. After the game was tied, he clobbered two consecutive sixes in the Super Over to lift the Men in Blue to a famous win.
Rohit looked in sublime form after New Zealand elected to field on winning the toss. The batter struck six fours and three sixes in his impressive innings. The right-hander got his innings underway by crashing the third ball of the first over from Southee behind point for four. He zoomed from 24 off 18 to 50 off 23 following a sensational display of big hitting in the sixth over bowled by Hamish Bennett.
After swinging a six over square leg, he launched the next ball down the ground for another maximum. Two more fours followed, after which Rohit brought up his fifty in commanding fashion, thumping the bowler over his head for the third maximum of the over, which went for 27.
Rohit’s fine knock ended when he dragged a knuckle ball from Bennett to long-on. Team India ended up with 179/5 on the board. After the bowlers held New Zealand to 179/6 despite Kane Williamson’s spectacular 95, Rohit was in action again with the willow in the Super Over.
With India needing 10 for victory off the last two balls, he lofted the penultimate ball from Southee for a maximum over wide long-on. The last delivery was slammed inside-out over long-off for a match-winning six!
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