India-New Zealand second T20 match at Chennai was the deciding match of the two-match series as the Vizag match was washed out. There was a lot of hype surrounding it as Yuvraj Singh was making a comeback after successfully defeating a rare germ cell cancer.
T20 is undoubtedly the most loved format nowadays and that reflected in the crowd that turned up to see the match. There was huge expectancy from the match and it lived up to that. India, who have never beaten New Zealand in a T20 before, were looking to get the records straight. Indian captain won the toss and elected to field on a pitch that no one knows better than him. Indian bowlers responded to their captain’s call and took two wickets in the first two overs. But, once again it was Brendon McCullum who took the game away from India and the Kiwis posted 167.
Indian team would have fancied their chances. Virat Kohli once again took the onus upon him and played some scintillating shots to keep India ahead of the required run-rate. India were on their way to win the match but some poor batting in the death overs and a negative approach cost India the match.
Both teams had some important contributions from their players and some pretty ordinary ones; let’s have a look at some hits and flops from both teams:
New Zealand:
Hits:
Brendon McCullum: New Zealand have now won four out of four against India in T20s and in all the four matches this man has played an important role for the Kiwis. McCullum came at number three and the ploy worked for the visiting team. Indian bowlers, who were looking unplayable in the initial overs, were made to look ordinary by McCullum. He played some tremendous strokes and was particularly severe on Ashwin. McCullum would have got to his century but an unfortunate dismissal saw him fell short by nine runs.
James Franklin: If it was McCullum who changed the match for the Kiwis with the bat, then it had to be James Franklin who did the same with the ball. Franklin missed out with the bat and only got an opportunity to bowl when Kyle Mills injured himself on the field. Franklin, who plays for Mumbai Indians in IPL, used all his experience and bowled four straight overs at the death. He took the all-important wicket of Virat Kohli and bowled the last over. In the last over, Franklin held his nerves and delivered New Zealand a win.
Jacob Oram: Oram is one of the most experienced players in the side and he sure did live up to the expectations. Oram played an important knock of 18 runs of just nine deliveries, but it was with the bowl that he made a big difference. Oram gave only 27 runs in his four overs and was pretty economical.
Flops:
Martin Guptill: He has been a consistent performer for New Zeanad of late but in this match he couldn’t do much. He played across the line to a Pathan in-swinger and lost his wicket.
Daniel Vettori: He has been a legend for New Zealand and was making a comeback after missing the Test series because of groin injury. Vettori is one of the most economical bowlers in the world when it comes to T20s. But in this match he couldn’t do anything. He went wicket-less and conceded 37 runs in his four overs.
India:
Hits:
Virat Kohli: He is the best batsman in the Indian team currently and it seems that he can do anything. Kohli opened the innings in the absence of Virender Sehwag and looked natural in doing so. He played some amazing shots and used his feet beautifully. India was cursing till the time he was on the crease. Kohli struck 10 boundaries and one six in his innings of 70 runs.
Yuvraj Singh: It was a dream comeback for this man and he did not disappoint. He came in at the halfway stage of Indian innings and looked to play attackingly. Yuvraj was a bit lucky as he was dropped once, but some of the shots that he played were vintage Yuvraj. He had the opportunity to win India the match with the team needing six runs on three balls but he missed a slower delivery. Overall his innings of 34 runs showed the glimpse of Yuvraj of the past.
Flops:
MS Dhoni: Indian team were cruising when MS Dhoni came in to bat. India needed only 48 runs from 40 balls when Indian skipper walked in to bat but some poor batting from him upped the required run-rate. Dhoni was far too defensive in his approach and consumed far too many deliveries to get started. Dhoni scored 22 runs of 23 deliveries and that proved fatal for the home team.
R Ashwin: Ashwin has been the number one spinner for India in this format, but in this match he could not make any impression. Ashwin who was playing in front of his home crowd bowled far too many lose deliveries and struggled to turn the ball. He conceded 34 runs in the three overs that he bowled.
By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News Network
