Virat-led India beat NZ again

Neither India nor New Zealand made any changes to their playing eleven.

On winning the toss, Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s skipper, chose to bat.

The Powerplay of New Zealand’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 48, and lost a wicket.

Guptill, whose 20-ball (Mart)innings included four boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 33. At the end of the Powerplay, he was caught by Virat Kohli, the player of the match. Shardul Thakur broke the 48-run stand.

New Zealand scored 50 off 6.2 overs (38 balls). India had conceded a couple of extras at that point.

Munro, whose 25-ball (Col)innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 26. Sixteen balls after Guptill’s dismissal, he was caught by Kohli. Shivam Dube broke the 20-run stand.

Colin de Grandhomme, who faced five balls, scored three. Ten balls later, he was caught by Ravindra Jadeja, who broke the six-run stand.

Williamson, who faced 20 balls, scored 14. Thirteen balls later, he was caught by Yuzvendra Chahal. Needless to say, Jadeja was in seventh heaven.

New Zealand scored 100 off 15.3 overs (93 balls). India had conceded a couple of extras at that point.

Ross Taylor, who faced 24 balls, scored 18. Forty-three balls later, he was caught by Rohit Sharma. Jasprit Bumrah broke the 44-run stand.

Tim Seifert, whose 26-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes, scored 33. He was unbeaten, as was Mitchell Santner, who didn’t face a ball.

India eventually conceded five extras. New Zealand scored 132 for the loss of five wickets off 20 overs. Chahal and Mohammed Shami bowled four wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 33, the latter conceded 22.

Thakur and Dube bowled a couple of overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 21, the latter conceded 16. Bumrah bowled four overs, conceding 21. He picked up a wicket. Jadeja bowled four overs, conceding 18. He picked up a couple of scalps.

The Powerplay of India’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 40, and lost a couple of wickets.

Sharma, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored eight. His runs came by way of boundaries. An over into the match, he was caught by Taylor. Tim Southee broke the eight-run stand.

Kohli, whose 12-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. Twenty-six balls later, he was caught by Seifert. Southee broke the 31-run stand.

India scored 50 off 8.1 overs (49 balls). New Zealand hadn’t conceded any extras at that point.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 55 balls. While the contribution of Lokesh Rahul, the player of the match, to the partnership was 28, Shreyas Iyer’s contribution to it was 26. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a run.

India scored 100 off 14.4 overs (88 balls). New Zealand had conceded half-a-dozen extras at that point.

Rahul’s half-century – which included three boundaries and a couple of sixes – came off 43 balls. He eventually scored 57 off 50 balls, and was unbeaten.

Iyer, whose 33-ball innings included a boundary and three sixes, eventually scored 44. Sixty-seven balls after Kohli’s dismissal, he was caught by Southee. Ish Sodhi broke the 86-run partnership.

Dube, whose four-ball innings included a six, scored eight. He was unbeaten.

The number of extras they eventually conceded gave New Zealand no reason to be in seventh heaven. India, who scored 135 for the loss of three wickets off 17.3 overs, won by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare.

Blair Tickner and Hamish Bennett bowled three wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 34, the latter conceded 29. Santner bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 19. Sodhi bowled four overs, conceding 33. He picked up a wicket. Southee bowled 3.3 overs, conceded 20. He picked up two scalps.

India led the five-match series 2-0.