WATCH: Sundar grabs a stunner to send Chapman packing

In the first T20I match between India and New Zealand currently being played in Ranchi, up-and-coming all-rounder Washington Sundar of India took a sensational catch to eliminate Mark Chapman and reduce the visitors to 43 for the loss of two wickets after five overs. On the final delivery of the fifth over, Sundar dove to his right and made an incredible catch. The on-field umpires acknowledged that the soft signal was in, but they referred it to the third umpire for confirmation. The decision was sustained because the third umpire had no hesitation in sticking with the on-field call.

India, unlike in the ODI series, elected to chase after winning the toss in the T20I series opener in Ranchi. Hardik Pandya, the captain of India, mentioned the dew that was anticipated; in fact, he claimed that he could already feel some dew at 6.30 p.m., which should slightly level the chances. Legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal was benched after India returned left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav into their T20I XI following an outstanding comeback in ODIs and Tests. The team management chose Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan as the openers rather than Prithvi Shaw, as Pandya had advised on the eve of the series. The sole anchor in the lineup was Gill.

Read more: SA20: Squads and broadcasting details for the inaugural season

Pitch

The first-inning score is often 156. In the corner near the players’ pavilion, the distances between square and straight limits are just 57 and 59 metres, respectively. The field is in fantastic condition; the grass is even present, and the new ball may receive some assistance. The curator minimised the amount of grass on the outfield to minimise the dew factor because there is a lot of talk about it. Although the pitch appears to be ideal for batting, the ball will skid on beautifully.

Watch the catch here

Playing XI

India

Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh

New Zealand

Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner