The Black Caps hammered the touring Indians for 218 runs to win the first of three T20 Internationals this morning. This is the worst defeat for India in the shortest format of the game. So, how did Kane Williamson manage to outplay the mighty Indian juggernaut coming from a historic victory at the same venue just a few nights ago ?
Early in the first innings, returning batsman Tim Seifert smashed the ball all around the park, as he consistently switched his stance, making the Indian bowlers look clueless. Even after he departed having blazed to a scintillating 84 off 44 deliveries, the runs kept piling on as skipper Williamson and veteran Ross Taylor maintained the offensive.
The chase of the mammoth 218 began with the Kiwi bowlers troubling the Indian batsmen as Tim Southee sharply swung the ball away from Shikhar Dhawan. Once Rohit Sharma fell trying to pull a steep bouncer from Southee, the cookie started to crumble.
The inexperience and ambiguity in the Indian batting order was completely exposed. Vijay Shankar, who has barely batted at the international arena before, walked in at the all-important No. 3 spot and tossed his wicket away moments after Mitchell Santner put an end to Rishabh Pant’s misery.
The inability of the Indian batsmen to get under the pacy and disciplined Kiwi pacers kept the required run-rate climbing steadily. The heavy-hitters fell victim to poor shots as they tried in vain to break free from the shackles imposed by a brilliant bowling effort from New Zealand.
By the time Mahendra Singh Dhoni lobbed one straight into the hands of Lockie Ferguson in the penultimate over, the target was nowhere in sight. Williamson’s persistence has paid off, while his counterpart’s arrogance towards chasing has misfired. If Sharma can successfully rally his men and save the series at Eden Park – a stadium notorious for the misery of visitors – on Friday is for time to tell.
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