Rajkot: Colin Munro’s breathtaking hundred coupled with four wickets from Trent Boult help New Zealand level the three-match T20I series in style with a 40-run win over India in Rajkot on Saturday.
Batting first, New Zealand, who weren’t good with the willow in the last game started off in grand style as the 105-run opening combination of Munro and Martin Guptill (45) tore apart the Indian bowling. Munro, who had failed to make a major impact all throughout this series rose to the occasion and hammered his way to a magnificent hundred in a do-or-die contest for his team. The left-hander, who is known for his aggressive batting further added weight to that statement as he plundered seven fours and the same number of sixes in his 58-ball unbeaten knock of 109 runs to take his team to a dominant total of 196/2.
Hyderabad pacer Mohammad Siraj making his debut, had a very bad day in the office as he was smashed for 53 runs in his four overs, but managed to dismiss the New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar despite ending without a wicket were pretty economical. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took one wicket, conceding 36 runs.
In reply, both the Indian openers-Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were dismissed within the first two overs to leave the team reeling at 11/2. Shreyas Iyer, who was playing only his second game, played a calm innings of 23 runs from 21 balls before being caught by Munro of his own bowling.
The hard-hitting Hardik Pandya was the next man to be dismissed as he, for the second time in two T20Is fell prey to leggie Ish Sodhi, who disturbed the woodwork behind him to send him back for just one run.
But skipper Virat Kohli wasn’t going to give up so easily as he along with MS Dhoni staged a fightback with a 56-run partnership. Kohli, who is the number one ranked T20I batsman, showed why he right there at the top with a well-composed 65 of 42 balls with eight fours and one six.
Dhoni too got into the act and smacked three sixes and two fours in his 49-run knock that came of just 37 balls but those weren’t enough to hand his team another win over the Kiwis in the shortest format of the game.
Trent Boult was the best bowler for the visitors as the left-arm speedster scalped four important wickets including the initial breakthroughs. Munro was deservedly named the Man-of-the-match for his all-round performance.
Brief scores-
New Zealand- 196/2 (Colin Munro 109 n.o, Martin Guptill 45; Yuzvendra Chahal 1/36) beat India 156/7 (Virat Kohli 65, MS Dhoni 49; Trent Boult 4/34) by 40 runs.