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Following his side's crushing loss to India in the third T20I, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner hailed the Indian opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for "showing how to bat in a powerplay", and the team will have to find their way against Indian batting at the Eden Park in the fourth T20I, with the ground being smaller in dimensions.
The explosive Indian pair of Abhishek and Sooryavanshi ended the match within the powerplay itself, scoring 118/0 in six overs, registering the highest powerplay score by a team in T20I history. While Team India faced a bit of a wobble, Abhishek's 38-ball 113 had done plenty of damage to make sure that the total of 199 runs was chased with over six overs left. Speaking during the post-match presentation, Santner said, "Pretty tough to stop those guys (Abhishek and Sooryavanshi) when they are going. We have seen it before; we have seen it in the IPL. Obviously, witnessed it here in New Zealand tonight. [On assessing New Zealand's batting performance and the total they posted at the halfway stage] Yeah, I think I did a little bit early after the ball. It is another lost toss, but, yeah, I think the way that Daryl and BJ (Bevon Jacosb) kind of got that partnership together, we tracked for 200 there, and obviously 200 is nice. It is a good score on a pitch like that. I thought they bowled really well those last few overs, really got the yorkers in and made it tough for us. So, yeah, reasonably happy. We knew that it was a good wicket. Obviously, when the dew comes in, it's pretty tough to stop, and the powerplay is such a massive part of this game, and they showed, I guess, how to bat in the powerplay." Santner reflected on the positives from the series so far, with the batting clicking and Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell posting important knocks for their teams across the three T20Is. "The batting is a bit firing nicely; obviously, different guys stepping up, which is always nice. You know, guys have got confidence under their belt, which is good. So, yeah, I mean, we know where to score runs against these guys, because it is pretty tough to defend," he added. On if the left-handed opening pair of Abhishek and Vaibhav caused him to delay his own entry with the ball, Santner said that he followed all-rounder Axar Patel's bowling in the first innings and there was not much for spinners. "I just watched Axar in the first innings. There was not a lot there, and there was a little bit of nibble with the seamers. We had to try (Michael) Bracewell with two left-handers to start. You know, they played that over spin very well. And then, yeah, I think from there we were trying to change it up and see what we can do. But, yeah, we are going to have to look at, you know, ways to try to stop them. And we have seen it before. It is pretty tough to stop them, but we go to Eden Park, where it is potentially smaller all around. So, yeah, we're going to have to try to find ways, I guess," he signed off. Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bowl first. After Tim Seifert (2) was removed early, an 86-run stand for the second wicket between Finn Allen (40 in 25 balls, with five fours) and Daryl Mitchell brought NZ back in the game. Glenn Phillips (17 in 14) was underwhelming after two successive fifties. Mitchell (89* off 52 balls, with five fours and five sixes) stuck around with Bevon Jacobs (39* off 23 balls, with four boundaries and a six), taking Kiwis to 198/3 in 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy took a wicket each. During the chase, Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (45 in 19 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) started off with a breathtaking, ultra-aggressive display of hitting, taking India to 133 in just 7.1 overs. Despite a brief stumble, a winning hit from Naman Dhir (4*) took India home with eight wickets and 40 balls left. India seal the series 3-0. (ANI)
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