India will play a three-match T20I series, with the first match starting in Jaipur on November 17. It will also be the first full-time assignment of Indian cricketing coach Rahul Dravid, and the new T20I skipper Rohit Sharma. The two sides have met 18 times in T2OIs, with India winning 8 and losing 9, and one being abandoned. Both the teams have been involved in some thrilling T20I clashes.
Cricwizz takes a look.
New Zealand beats India by 1 run in Chennai in 2012
It was the 2nd and final T20I, and everything to play for after the first match was washed off due to rain. Put into bat, NZ made 167/5, courtesy of a brilliant knock of 91 from Brendon McCullum. India was comfortably placed at 120/3 in 13.1 overs with Virat Kohli leading the chase with a fifty. However, the fall of Kohli’s wicket saw India lose momentum and struggle to score runs. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh took the match to the last over, with 13 runs needed off 6 balls.
Dhoni raised hopes of a win, cracking a four off the 2nd ball of the 20th over. But Yuvi fell on the fourth ball, bringing down the equation to 6 runs off 2 balls. New batsman Rohit Sharma could manage just four of the last 2 balls to lose the match by a run.
India beats NZ in super over at Hamilton in 2020
India was leading by a 2-0 margin going into the third T20I in Hamilton. Batting first, India scored 179/5, with Rohit Sharma top-scoring with 65. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson led from the front, with a knock of 95 runs. With 9 runs needed off 6 balls, Williamson and Ross Taylor looked to guide their team home. And it became even more clear when Taylor slammed the first ball of the 20th over bowled by Mohammad Shami for a six.
But Williamson fell on the third ball for 95 with 2 runs needed off four balls. It came down to 1 run needed off 1 ball. But Taylor dragged the ball onto the stumps to put the game in a super over. NZ then set a target of 18 runs to India in the super over and looked good to pull it off with India needing 10 runs off the last 2 balls.
But Rohit had other plans. He slammed the last two balls for a six each to win a thriller for India, and the series 3-0. The fourth match of the series ended in another India win via super over. India went on to win the series 5-0.
New Zealand beats India by 4 runs in 2019
With the series leveled 1-1, India were favorite in the third T20I at Hamilton. New Zealand piled up 212/4, thanks to Colin Munro’s 40-ball 72. India gave a good fight, reaching 121/1 in 12 overs, but soon lost 4 wickets for 24 runs in 3 overs. With MS Dhoni back to the pavilion, India stared at defeat, requiring 68 runs off 28 balls.
However, Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya turned things around, giving New Zealand a scare before ending up 4 runs short. Karthik cracked four sixes for 16-ball 33 not out, while Krunal made 13-ball 26* with 2 fours and 2 sixes. Karthik’s refusing a single on the third ball of the last over was the turning point, with India losing by 4 runs, and the series 2-1.
Do you think we will have down-the-wire encounters this time around? Or will India make easy work of the Kiwis given the conditions are in their favor? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and do follow our Social media handles for the latest updates from the world of Cricket.
