Suryakumar Yadav was quite confident during the chase, smashing the ball to all corners of the ground astutely.
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Suryakumar Yadav made his presence felt with a stunning half-century to help India defeat New Zealand by five wickets in the opening T20I of the ongoing series between the two nations. Suryakumar accumulated 62 runs off 40 deliveries in an innings comprising of six boundaries and three sixes. Skipper Rohit Sharma provided valuable support, smashing 48 runs from 36 balls with the knock including five fours and two maximums. The match went down to the final over, but Rishabh Pant was able to deliver the goods when it mattered the most, smashing a crucial boundary. Team India have now recorded their ninth win in 18 T20Is against New Zealand. Before this triumph, the Black Caps were the only opponent against whom India had more defeats than wins in the shortest format.
Trent Boult was the pick of the bowlers, accounting for two dismissals. Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner and Daryl Mitchell registered a wicket apiece.
Opener Martin Guptill and Mark Chapman smashed half-centuries to help New Zealand post a total of 164 runs for the loss of six wickets in the opening T20I against India. Guptill accumulated 70 runs off 42 deliveries in an innings comprising of three boundaries and four sixes at a strike rate of 166.67. Chapman smashed 63 runs from 50 balls with the knock including six fours and two maximums. The knock came at a strike rate of 126. However, they did not enjoy much support from the rest of the batsmen. Wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert was the next highest run-scorer, accumulating 12 runs from 11 deliveries. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin were the pick of the bowlers for India, accounting for two dismissals. Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Siraj chipped in with a wicket apiece.
“After losing an early one, it was about putting a partnership together after the powerplay. This contributed to a fair team total. It’s nice to get a chance and the guys played well in the World Cup. Glad to get a few out of the middle and just be out there with Guptill. A few balls keeping low and stopping, so it’s a competitive total, and we back our bowling side to do a good job defending this,” said Chapman as quoted by Cricbuzz.
All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer made his debut in the encounter, on the back of a fantastic performance in the second half of the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
“Everyone who plays cricket aspires to play for the country, so I feel good that I’ve been presented with this opportunity. Feels good to play under Rahul (Dravid) sir, I’m really excited and looking forward to it. As a cricketer you got to be flexible, and I’ll look to capitalise on the role I’ve been given. I’m ready to bat at any position, or bowl whenever I’ve been asked to. It’s wonderful to play in front of the (Indian) crowd, it’s great to have them back,” said Iyer.
