Watch: Stunning presence of mind from Dinesh Karthik in the first Ind vs NZ T20I
The first T20 match between New Zealand and India was held yesterday at the Westpac Stadium. India were fairly sloppy in the field during the contest, especially Dinesh Karthik, who had a mixed day in the outfield. He dropped two easy catches during the New Zealand innings but took one absolutely stunning catch.
Hardik Pandya bowled the last ball of the 15th over and Kiwi batsman Daryl Mitchell tried to loft the ball over long on. The ball travelled to Dinesh Karthik, who was at the boundary line and took the catch. As he was about to cross the boundary, he threw the ball in the air, came back and dived to complete the formalities. He stepped on the boundary ropes seconds before he took the catch, but managed to step out at the right moment.
It was the only moment from yesterday's game that gave something to cheer for the Indian fans. He had dropped an easy catch before this one, made a good comeback, but again dropped another easy one after this catch.
Despite Indian captain Rohit Sharma winning the toss and putting the Kiwis into bat, it was the hosts who dominated throughout the game.
New Zealand's wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert scored a stunning 84 runs in 43 balls. Munro and Captain Williamson played their part which helped the home team post an impressive 219 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs.
India had a shocking start as star batsman Rohit Sharma got out very early. Dhawan and Shankar played a decent inning but could not convert the start into a big score.
Dhoni and Krunal Pandya had a decent partnership too, but it was not enough for the visitors to chase down the huge target. Eventually, they suffered a record 80 run- loss, which is the worst defeat for India in T20I history in terms of runs.