India's smooth sailing T20I brigade hit a bumpy road in Vishakhapatnam on Wednesday. Having outplayed Kiwis throughout the series, the Men in Blue were on the receiving end in the IND vs NZ 4th T20I. New Zealand posted a massive 215 batting first, with India slipping to 165 all out.
India's strategy to play one batter short backfired as New Zealand clinched victory. Tim Seifert scored a half-century while Daryl Mitchell provided late fireworks to power the visitors to huge score. In response, India's batting crumbled with the exception of Shivam Dube, who scored 65. Kiwis have avoided whitewash with a consolation win.
India's chase got off to a worst possible start after Abhishek Sharma was dismissed off the very first ball of the innings. Suryakumar Yadav was the next to be dismissed as India slipped to 9/2. In Rinku Singh and Sanju Samson, India rebuilt a foundation with the duo keeping the scoreboard ticking.
However, Mitchell Santner got two quick wickets to leave India reeling at 63/4. Rinku Singh soon departed and India had the game shut out at 82/5. It took a whirlwind knock from Shivam Dube to make a game out of the contest. Dube smashed Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi to all parts of the ground in a 15-ball half-century. His 23-ball 65 ended with an unfortunate run out after Matt Henry deflected a Harshit Rana drive onto the stumps. The Men in Blue were skittled out for 165, handing the Kiwis their biggest win over India in India.
Earlier, New Zealand put on a 100-run partnership for the opening wicket. Tim Seifert scored a half-century while Devon Conway scored 44. India mounted a fightback with Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah striking in the middle overs to pull things back. However, a Daryl Mitchell finishing masterclass powered the Kiwis to 215.
