India Showed Their Experience In Crunch Situation: Kane Williamson

On Wednesday (January 29), New Zealand team gave absolutely everything in the do-or-die match against the Men in Blue at Seddon Park in Hamilton but it was to no avail. However, the drama lived up to the expectations. India posted 179/5 in their allotted quota of 20 overs on the back of Rohit Sharma’s impressive 65 off 40 deliveries which included six fours and three sixes.

Indian captain Virat Kohli too played well down the order as he chipped in with 27-ball 38 including two fours and a six.

In reply to India’s total, Kiwis responded quite well and dragged the game till the climax before India fast bowler Mohammed Shami bowled a great delivery to outsmart Ross Taylor when New Zealand required one run off the last ball.

The game ended in a tie as both teams had to play a super over to decide the winner of the match.

There on, New Zealand were able to score 17 runs off Jasprit Bumrah’s over with the help of Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill.

In reply, Kohli-led team won the super over to win the T20I series in New Zealand for the first time in cricket history. When 10 runs were required off the last two deliveries off Tim Southee, Rohit Sharma hit two magnificent sixes to seal the deal for India.

Rightly so, he was named the Player of the Match for his match-winning performance.

Much better performance from us against India: Kane Williamson

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is not a happy man after seeing his team surrender at the hands of India at home. After losing three games in a row, Williamson looked visibly upset and frustrated at the post-match presentation.

“Super overs haven’t been too successful for us so we needed to be a little bit better to win it in regular time. A great game of cricket, India again showed their experience in crunch situations. It is a really important experience for us to take from and move on. We bowled well after they got off to a superb start. There was something in it for the bowlers but both sides maximised shorter side of the boundary towards the scoreboard and made a very good game of cricket.

Very disappointing after coming off from an effort like that. It was nice to spend some time in the middle and build some partnerships because starting on this deck wasn’t easy. It was disappointing not to cross the finishing line. It is a game of small margins. It was a much better performance from us. Eden Park was not bad, we spoke about getting 15-20 more and that’s a couple of good decisions away,” Kane Williamson said at the post-match presentation.

The fourth T20I match will be played at the Wellington Regional Stadium on January 31 (Friday).

Read More: New Zealand vs India 2020: Rohit Sharma Revels In Hamilton Super Over