India beat New Zealand in second T20I: Records broken
Team India beat New Zealand in the second T20I of the three-match series on Friday. With this win, India have sealed the series with one game to spare. Put into bat, New Zealand posted a below-par 153/6. Debutant Harshal Patel led the way for India with figures worth 2/25. In response, India chased down the target in Ranchi. Here are the details.
Why does it matter?
India won another bilateral series at home to extend their run. This was India's fifth successive T20I series win on home soil. What stood out for India was the performance of Harshal, who looked at ease. He had a terrific IPL 2021 season and that helped in his approach. Restricting New Zealand to 153/6 on a good batting surface did the trick for India.
How did the match pan out?
Put into bat, the Kiwis did well in the powerplay overs, adding 64 runs. From there on, India hit back and didn't allow NZ to walk away. Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, and Glenn Phillips got 30-pus scores but couldn't maximize. Indian spin duo of R Ashwin and Axar Patel were superb. With the bat, India were off to a good start and it helped.
Ashwin and Axar bowl well for Team India
Ashwin, who made a return to India's T20I fold in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, claimed figures worth 1/19 from his four overs. On the other hand, Axar was terrific as well, finishing with 1/26 from his four-over spell. Together they gave away just 45 runs from eight overs, claiming two wickets. Ashwin has 61 wickets now and matched Mohammad Hafeez's tally.
Unique records for Harshal
As per Cricbuzz, Harshal became the sixth-oldest T20I debutant for India at 30 years and 361 days. The oldest is current head coach Rahul Dravid, who had made his debut at 38 years and 232 days. As per statistician Umang Pabari, Harshal became the 94th T20I debutant for India, who have equaled Pakistan and South Africa's tally (94 each). Australia (98) hold the record.
Martin Guptill is the highest scorer in T20Is
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill scored an aggressive 15-ball 31. He smashed three fours and two sixes before perishing in the fifth over. Guptill is now the highest scorer in T20Is. He has raced to 3,248 runs at 32.48. The senior batter surpassed Virat Kohli's tally of 3,227 runs. Guptill is now the first batter with 160-plus T20I sixes (161).
Guptill surpasses 600 T20I runs in 2021
Guptill is now the joint-third highest scorer in 2021. He has 627 runs at 36.88, becoming the fourth player with 600-plus runs this year. Playing his 15th T20I against India, Guptill has surpassed the 300-run mark (329).
India gain lead in H2H record vs NZ
The two sides have now met 19 times in T20Is, with India leading the tally 10-9. Notably, India won two of these matches through Super Over. India routed the Black Caps 5-0 in the five-match T20I series in NZ last year. Besides, NZ beat India in the 2021 T20 World Cup. The Kiwis are yet to win a bilateral T20I series in India.
Partnership records for Rahul and Rohit
Indian openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma shared their 13th fifty-plus partnership in T20Is. This is now the joint-highest tally by a pair alongside Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling (13). Rahul and Rohit slammed their fifth century-plus stand in T20Is. This is the joint-best tally.
Rahul and Rohit contribute with the bat
Rahul (65) slammed his 16th T20I fifty, besides surpassing 1,800 runs (1,831). He is now the third Indian batter to achieve this feat. Rahul went past David Miller's tally of 1,786 runs alongside Quinton de Kock (1,827). India's T20I skipper Rohit started slowly before changing the gears. He smashed his 25th T20I fifty and now has 29 fifty-plus scores, equaling Virat Kohli.
Southee gets Rohit one more time
Tim Southee was terrific, claiming three wickets for 16 runs. He has raced to 111 wickets in T20Is at 24.58. Southee has now dismissed Rohit four times in T20Is and on the 11th occasion across formats. This is his best tally against a batter.
