But the New Zealand pace trio of captain Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Lockie Ferguson conceded just 13 runs in 17th, 18th, and 19th overs to bring the equation to 10 runs needed off the final over. With 23 runs needed off the last four overs, one would have expected India to reach home early. The one point where India would like some more improvement is in applying the finishing touches with the bat. Apart from Sharma's stroke-filled 48 and Ravichandran Ashwin's 2/23, Suryakumar Yadav made great use of the opportunity of batting at number three with a solid 62 off 40 balls while Bhuvneshwar Kumar did well in picking 2/24 in his four overs. Indian team can take many positives from the first match in Jaipur against the New Zealand team. The five-wicket win in Jaipur on Wednesday kick-started the Rohit Sharma- Rahul Dravid combination though there were some nervous moments in closing the chase of 165.
CRICKET 7 WICKET SERIES
Brief Score:Įngland: 188 for 5 in 20 overs (Jonny Bairstow 49, Moeen Ali 43 Mohammed Shami 3/40).After managing to hold their nerve in winning the first T20I in Jaipur, India cricket team will be looking to seal the three-match T20I series against New Zealand cricket team at the JSCA International Stadium on Friday. In all, India had a good outing, exactly how they would have wanted in a warm-up game. However unlike Chahar, who at times looked penetrative, the English batters didn't have much of a problem in milking Ashwin for the singles and some inside out shots over extra-cover.
While Chahar removed ICC's World No 1 ranked T20 batter Dawid Malan (18 off 18 balls) with a googly, he wasn't as consistent with his length as Ashwin, who went wicket-less but wasn't punished as such. The two had also played an IPL final just few days back along with play-off games and hence both were rested. The Indian team is pretty certain that Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy are the two spinners who will be in operation when the campaign starts. However, the contest that head coach Ravi Shastri and captain Kohli keenly watched was how well young leg-spinner Chahar (1/43 in 4 overs) and veteran off-spinner Ashwin (0/23 in 4 overs) shape up for the third spinner's slot. Moeen Ali (43 not out off 20 balls), fresh from his IPL exploits, beefed up England's score in the final over. He was easily India's best bowler on view while Bhuvneshwar looked a bit out of place. Veteran Shami bowled the fuller lengths and also mixed it with clever variations as he got wickets of openers Jason Roy (17 off 13 balls), Jos Buttler (18 off 13 balls) and Liam Livingstone (30 off 20 balls).īuttler was done in by change of pace where the length was slightly shortened and pace taken off after being hit for two boundaries, while Livingstone was castled by an old-fashioned yorker.īumrah even in a warm-up game, bowled an unplayable yorker to prevent Jonny Bairstow (49 off 36 balls) from getting a half-century. The England batters also threw their willows around to get some quality time in the middle on a good surface at the ICC Academy ground here after being put in to bat. Hardik Pandya, who is supposed to be the "designated finisher" in this line-up, came to the crease with 21 needed off 15 balls and he hit a few streaky shots in his 16 not out in 10 balls. Rishabh Pant (29 not out, 14 balls) smashed the bowlers, while Suryakumar Yadav (8 off 8 balls) did look a bit scratchy during his brief stay.
Kohli (11) didn't score much but that would be least of concerns for the Indian team. The third angle to this 'triangle' - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, however, consistently missed the length giving away 54 runs in four overs. India in the first game ticked some boxes that includes two senior pacers Jasprit Bumrah (1/26) and Mohammed Shami (3/40) hitting the straps straightaway with some fast and accurate deliveries. Kishan, who might have to sit out if he is not playing as an opener, did his case no harm once Rahul was gone as he punished the spinners, including a dazzling six, coming down the track off Adil Rashid. In a game where result was secondary, Rahul's touch would have certainly made skipper Virat Kohli pleased as punch as he hit some breathtaking sixes off Chris Woakes and also treated Mark Wood with disdain. Rahul made batting look easy with six boundaries and three sixes in his 24-ball-51 while Kishan was retired hurt after a chiselled 70 off 46 balls that had three sixes apart from seven boundaries as India chased a target of 189 with an over to spare. KL Rahul's brutal yet elegant fifty sealed the second opener's debate while his opening partner Ishan Kishan also grabbed the opportunity as India warmed-up nicely with a seven-wicket win over England in the opening practice match ahead of the T20 World Cup.
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