Super Sixes SRL | IND vs NZ Evaluation Chart - Big guns step up as Kiwis dismiss indifferent India

Super Sixes SRL | IND vs NZ Evaluation Chart - Big guns step up as Kiwis dismiss indifferent India

no photo

New Zealand upset India in the SRL

|

Getty

New Zealand registered a major upset in the SRL, on Tuesday, as the Blackcaps stunned Virat Kohli’s India to chase down a mammoth target of 186 with seven wickets in hand. Kohli’s unbeaten 70 was overshadowed by Williamson, Taylor and Guptill, all of whom fired to take the Kiws home.

Match Review

Winning the toss and opting to bowl, the Kiwis controlled the Indian batsmen just like they did on Day 2 of the infamous World Cup encounter in 2019 and it did not take them long to see the back of danger man Rohit Sharma. However, their worst nightmare then came to fruition, as the duo of Kohli and Rahul bludgeoned them all over the park to turn the tables around and help India assert their dominance in the game. Eventually, with able support from Shreyas Iyer, Kohli finished unbeaten on 70 and propelled India’s score to a mammoth 185. 

At the half-way mark of the game, it looked like India had done enough to bat Kiwis out of the game and crush their hopes, but Martin Guptill’s boundary in the very first ball of the innings suggested otherwise. Together with Munro, he gave the Kiwis a fine start, but the latter’s untimely run out then put the Kiwis in a spot of bother. However, Munro’s dismissal turned out to be only a minor blip, as then two fine partnerships - between Guptill and Williamson and Williamson and Taylor - put the Kiwis within striking distance. Eventually, an uncharacteristic day out for Bumrah gave the Kiwis the push they needed and helped them get over the line with 7 wickets in hand.

You can check out the scorecard and Match Tracker here.

Turning Point

Despite fending off the Indian spinners smartly, the Kiwis were still behind in the chase but the paradigm shift came in the form of Shardul Thakur’s 15th over. After treading carefully versus the slower bowlers, the Kiwis cut loose versus Thakur and demolished the pacer to collect 17 runs off the over. The over released the little pressure India had accumulated and put New Zealand in the drivers’ seat.

Highs and Lows

For the second game running, it was a Kohli-Rahul masterclass that not only dragged India from a rut but made alien batting conditions look like a flat MCG wicket. With the score 23/1 in the sixth over, the duo put on a whopping 97 runs for the 2nd wicket off just 59 balls, striking 12 boundaries in the process. They say batting is poetry at its finest and no one but these two men personified that statement.

Ravindra Jadeja’s loose spell in the middle turned out to be a low in the game, as not only did the left-armer fail to pick wickets, but he also did not curtail the runs, allowing the Kiwi batters to breeze through in the middle overs. He finished with a disappointing economy rate of 9.67, not doing justice to the ‘danger man’ reputation that he has accumulated over the years. 

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: India 6.5/10 and New Zealand 9/10

For a brief while, it felt like we were sat there watching a replay of India’s game against the Proteas yesterday - the happenings were identical. New Zealand’s new-ball bowlers - Boult and Ferguson - tormented the Indian openers with their pin-point accuracy, and it wasn’t until Rohit’s dismissal and Kohli’s entry that India started to get a move on. However, India’s ‘aggression’ lasted only for seconds as pinned them to the floor and kept them under check to restrict the Men in Blue to 30/1 at the end of the powerplay.

Martin Guptill and Colin Munro taking Jasprit Bumrah for 15 runs off the very first over indicated that the Kiwis meant business, with them racing off to 28/0 in just 2.4 overs. However, a terrible mix-up between the two openers resulted in Munro walking back to the pavilion and the opening was enough for the Indian bowlers to bounce back - or that’s what they thought. Despite Munro’s dismissal, the Indians leaked a flurry of boundaries towards the end to ensure that the Kiwis reached 55/1 at the end of their powerplay.

Middle-overs manoeuvring: India 10/10 and New Zealand 8/10

The eerie similarity between the aforementioned games extended into the middle-overs, too - the Kiwi bowlers lost their way after a disciplined powerplay, thanks to some extraordinary counter-punching from the Indians. Kohli and Rahul put on a show between overs 10 and 14 and hit a remarkable EIGHT boundaries to leave the BlackCaps dejected and the receiving end of the onslaught was poor Colin de Grandhomme, whose 13th over yielded TWENTY FIVE runs. Eventually, the Kiwis did see the back of Rahul, but by then, India had already scored 98 runs in the middle overs. A 10/10 performance.

New Zealand’s moment of reckoning came in the middle overs, for the outcome of the game basically rested on their ability to tackle the Indian spinners. And the Kiwi batsmen, led by skipper Kane, did their job to perfection, as not only did they arrest the flow of wickets, but they also latched onto some loose bowling from Ravindra Jadeja, taking 29 runs off his 3 overs. They reaped the reward for their intelligent batting in the form of Shardul Thakur’s 15th over, an over where they scored 17 runs. All in all, the Kiwis ended up scoring 78 runs in the middle overs for the loss of just one wicket; they well and truly exceeded the expectations.

Death bowling:- New Zealand 4/10 and India 3/10

The Kiwis were lucky in a way, for they did not face the wrath of Rishabh Pant, but that did not matter one bit as they were anyway pulverized by the bat of Kohli and Iyer. The last five overs yielded 58 runs and the New Zealanders had no answers to the Indian skipper’s shrewdness, as Kohli went on to score an unbeaten 70. Iyer, too, came up with a valuable contribution of his own - a 20-ball 31 - as the Men in Blue dashed any Kiwi hopes of regaining momentum right before the break.

Despite New Zealand having two set batsmen at the crease, the required run rate, at the start of the death overs, had crept over 10 and this worked in India’s favour. However, despite removing Williamson in the 17th over, erratic bowling from Chahal and Thakur saw the Kiwis edge closer to the target, with them requiring 20 off the final 2 overs. But an uncharacteristically loose 19th over from Jasprit Bumrah, which capped off a horror night for him, completely turned the tide around in the Kiwis’ favour and the Blackcaps, thanks to some lusty blows from Taylor, got home with three balls to spare.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Good

High scoring matches are always fun and today’s encounter was a prime example of it. From disciplined bowling to clever batting to multiple twists and turns, this game had it all and proved to be a complete package. A very good advertisement for T20 cricket, I’d say. 

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all