India defeated New Zealand in a thrilling Super Over in Hamilton to grab a 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Two sixes were hit by Rohit Sharma in the Super Over.
New Zealand and Super Overs are an unholy alliance. They’d ‘lost’ the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup final to England after failing to score more than 15 runs. They had previously tasted heartbreak in a five-match series against England, losing the final T20I in Auckland in a super over. Kane Williamson had failed to win four of his five super overs. What became clear in the sixth over at Seddon Park was that New Zealand simply cannot win a super over. Kane Williamson had produced an extraordinary innings, resisting Jasprit Bumrah’s death-overs prowess.
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When he was bowled for 95 by Mohammed Shami, New Zealand still needed two out of three. In the circumstances, I’m at ease. Try saying it to the people of New Zealand. Tim Seifert missed a short ball, took a bye on the next, and Ross Taylor was bowled by a full ball after hitting a six at the start of the over. Williamson defeated Jasprit Bumrah in the super over for the second time. As New Zealand set India a target of 18, Williamson smashed a six and a four from two good deliveries, and Martin Guptill finished the innings with a four.
KL Rahul smacked a boundary, but the equation was 10 off 2 balls. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, was on strike. Faced with Seddon Park’s narrow boundaries and a wind that aided lofted hitting towards deep midwicket, the world’s most prolific six-hitter seized the opportunity. India saved a match that was destined to be lost by winning the super over and taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series after the fifth ball was launched over deep midwicket. With four needed off the last ball, Rohit blasted a six to long off and India saved a match that was destined to be lost in the most spectacular way by winning the super over and taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
What chance does New Zealand have of squandering its advantage? The hosts were fumbling to make progress when Williamson came to bat on a pitch that proved to be a puzzle. Williamson got off to a good start with a pair of fours from Yuzvendra Chahal, but he hit top gear when he hammered sixes off Chahal and Shami to reach fifty. Williamson became a boundary-hitting machine after reaching the benchmark, launching Ravindra Jadeja for two sixes and thwarting Bumrah with three boundaries.
With the onslaught on Bumrah, Williamson showed he was in the zone, conceding more than 10 runs per over for the first time since the West Indies humdinger in Lauderdale in August 2016. The dramatic implosion and Rohit’s heavenly hits in the Super Over condemned New Zealand to their first-ever series defeat against India at home, when nine runs were needed off the final over and everyone else had failed.
Rohit On Song
Rohit Sharma had brilliantly built up the match prior to his mind-numbing performance in the Super Over. New Zealand elected to bowl, but Rohit Sharma, boosted by KL Rahul’s excellent form, got India off to a flying start. Rahul and Rohit consistently found the boundary, but in Scott Kuggleijn’s sixth over, Rohit went on a tear, slamming three sixes and two fours for 27 runs.
India were once again facing a total in excess of 200 at 69/0 after the completion of the powerplay, but the pitch inexplicably changed its character and bowlers ruled the roost in the middle overs. Rahul appeared to be in fantastic form, but he was caught for 27 runs after cutting a slow and short ball from Colin de Grandhomme. Soon after, Rohit fell for 65 as Hamish Bennett exacted his wrath, and when Shivam Dube battled for three, New Zealand had taken control.
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There were no boundaries struck in the middle overs period, particularly from overs 9 to 12, and it was Virat Kohli who broke the shackles when he flicked Ish Sodhi to the fine leg barrier. Kohli went on to break MS Dhoni’s record for most runs scored in Twenty20 Internationals as captain, and India were back on track when Shreyas Iyer smashed a six off Santner.
However, India had only achieved 92 runs since the end of the powerplay, when Santner stumped Iyer and Bennett dismissed Kohli for 38. Manish Pandey and Ravindra Jadeja, on the other hand, smashed two sixes in Southee’s final over as India reached 179/6. In hindsight, Southee’s final over blitz was possibly an indication that he shouldn’t have bowled the super over “inputs from english.newsnationtv.com.”
