Author: The Cricket Blog

New Zealand again suffered Super Over heartbreak as India beat them in a thriller at Seddon Park on Wednesday. The win, India’s first in T-20’s in NZ outside Auckland, saw the visitors clinch the five match series 3-0.

Here are our talking points from the game.

1. New Zealand fluff their lines badly

New Zealand had two glorious chances to seal this game- once when they needed 2 to win of 4 balls in the last over of the game, and the other when they had 10 to defend of 2 balls in the Super Over. Unfortunately they fluffed their lines on both occasions and fell to a disappointing defeat. Adding insult to injury was the fact that Rohit Sharma, the batsman who hit two sixes in the Super Over, could have been dismissed earlier had the Black Caps not messed up a straightforward run out opportunity.

It was deja vu for the NZ fans after their World Cup final heartbreak last year.

2. Williamson knock goes in vain

Kane Williamson played a fine hand in Hamilton, almost single-handedly dragging his team to victory. His 95 (48) should have seen him on the winning side but for the Black Caps’ meltdown at the end. Williamson also managed to get runs off Jasprit Bumrah at the death- a feat that seemed well beyond the abilities of his team mates in Auckland. Continue reading “Talking points from India vs New Zealand Third T20 Hamilton 2020”

Lokesh Rahul continued his good form with the bat with yet another half century as India comfortably defeated New Zealand by seven wickets at Eden Park to go 2-0 up in the five game T20 series on Sunday.

Here are our talking points from the game.

1. Black Caps failed to capitalize on the start given by Guptill

Martin Guptill’s 20 ball 33 gave New Zealand a good start after they had won the toss and chosen to bat first. But the rest of the batsmen were unable to make use of the solid foundation he had laid upfront. New Zealand were 56 after 6.3 overs but only managed to crawl to 132/5 at the end of their allotted 20. Even worse, they managed only 22 runs of the last four overs- a figure that could have been even worse if not for Tim Seifert’s outrageous six over extra cover off the penultimate ball of the innings.

Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, both of who had struck at nearly 200 in the first T20, simply struggled to get bat on ball and scored 32 runs off 44 balls between them without managing even a single boundary.

2. Colin de Grandhomme fails again

He fell for a two ball duck in the first T-20, and Colin de Grandhomme again failed to impress at Eden Park. Promoted ahead of Ross Taylor, he scored 3 (5) before spooning a simple return catch to Ravindra Jadeja. De Grandhomme is the designated power hitter in the New Zealand middle order and his failures have not helped the Black Caps’ cause in this series.

3. Jadeja and Bumrah strangulate the Black Caps

Jadeja’s fine spell of 2/18 saw India choke the Black Caps in the middle stages of the innings while Jasprit Bumrah was again his usual miserly self at the death. Between them, the duo had combined figures of 3/40 in 8 overs and were the architects of India’s triumph. Continue reading “Talking Points from India vs New Zealand 2nd T20 Auckland January 26 2020”

Fine half centuries from KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer helped India comfortably chase down a stiff target of 203 in their first T20 against New Zealand in Auckland. The visitors used the short straight boundaries at Eden Park to good effect as they coasted home with a full over to spare.

Here are our talking points from today’s T20I clash.

Bumrah excellent: On a pitch where over 400 runs were scored, Jasprit Bumrah was again excellent with miserly figures of 1/31 in his 4 overs. Those 31 runs included a misfield and an overthrow which cost 8 runs instead of the two they should originally have, which means his figures would’ve read 1/25. He conceded only two fours and on a day when his fellow pacers Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Shami were carted all around the park, his stellar spell was as important to India’s victory as Rahul and Iyer’s knocks.

Poor Indian fielding: Perhaps it was the jet lag, but India’s fielding was seriously off the pace today. Apart from the misfield and overthrow mentioned above, there were plenty of other lapses- the biggest of them being Yuzvendra Chahal’s dropped catch of Kane Williamson. The NZ skipper could’ve been caught in his 20’s, but poor positioning saw the ball sail over Chahal’s head for six. It didn’t cost them today, but it’s an area Virat Kohli will demand instant improvement in ahead of the second T20.

Great Guptill catch: The Black Caps mirrored India’s fielding- they had two shots at running KL Rahul out in the sixth over, but fluffed both, and Ish Sodhi then dropped a skier that would’ve seen the back of Kohli. However the catch that eventually sent the Indian skipper back to the pavillion was an absolute stunner from Martin Guptill- another great display of athleticism from the Black Caps star. Continue reading “Bumrah excellent, poor Indian fielding, great Guptill catch & more- Talking points from Black Caps vs India First T20 Auckland 2020”