IND vs NZ | Twitter thrilled as Bumrah, Abhishek, and Surya power India to eight-wicket win over hapless Kiwis

Venkateswaran N

ByVenkateswaran N,SportsCafe Editor

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India beat New Zealand by eight wickets in the third of the five-match T20I series in Guwahati. Jasprit Bumrah spearheaded a disciplined bowling effort from the home side to restrict the Kiwis to 153/9 before Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav smashed whirlwind fifties to power the side home.

Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav
‌India took an unassailable lead in the five-match T20I series with an eight-wicket humbling of New Zealand in the third game in Guwahati on Sunday. A recharged Jasprit Bumrah led the attack impressively with a three-wicket haul to restrict the visitors to 153/9 before Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav made a mockery of the chase, going past the target in 10 overs, with blistering half-centuries.

After opting to bowl at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium, India had an excellent start with Harshit Rana and Hardik Pandya striking in the first two overs. Though Glenn Phillips kept the Kiwis’ spirit high with four boundaries, Bumrah’s introduction in the last over of powerplay spelled further doom for the visitors. The pacer cleaned up Tim Seifert as the Kiwis ended the six-over period at 36/3. Despite handy contributions from Phillips, Mark Chapman, and Mitchell Santner through the middle phase, the Blackcaps could never recover from their initial wobble. Phillips had six fours and a six during his 40-ball 48, while Chapman and Santner contributed 32 and 27, respectively, as the batting side huffed and puffed its way past the 150-run mark. Unsurprisingly, Bumrah was the main man for India with the ball, picking up 3/17 in four overs, as Pandya and Bishnoi had two wickets each.

The chase raised some doubts straightaway, with Matt Henry rearranging Sanju Samson’s stumps in the first ball after the restart. However, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma quashed any hopes that the Kiwis nurtured for a brief while. Kishan picked up from where he left off in the last game with two massive sixes and a four off Henry to make it a bittersweet first over for the pacer. His partner Abhishek joined in, the next over, with a first-ball six off Jacob Duffy before ending that over with another boundary. From then on, the left-handed duo sent the Kiwi bowlers on a leather hunt, going past 50 in just the fourth over. Though Kishan was dismissed by Ish Sodhi in his first over after his 13-ball 28, captain Suryakumar Yadav walked into the middle to support Abhishek as the Men in Blue cruised in top gear. Another barrage of boundaries saw Abhishek bring up his half-century in just 14 balls, the second fastest by an Indian in T20Is after Yuvraj Singh, as India were placed at a dominant 94/2 after the powerplay. With the result beyond any doubt, Surya also shifted gears to bring up his fifty with a boundary off Phillips in the 10th over. And in the next ball, he smashed one more to make it 16 from the off-spinner’s over, taking India past the target to end at 155/2 with 10 overs to spare. Meanwhile, Sodhi and Henry had identical figures of 2/28 in two overs on a night where they were treated with disdain by the brute force of Abhishek, Kishan and Surya.

Boom!

haha!

Fifty!

Pure Dominance!

🗿

Fastest!

Captain sky!

Unreal shot!

What a shot!

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