Internet Desk: Virat Kohli led Indian cricket team displayed a stellar performance against World No.1 T20I side New Zealand in the third and decisive T20I at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram to clinch the series 2-1. In a rain interrupted decider the Men in Blue beat the Kiwis by 6 runs. In the allotted 8 overs the hosts scored 67 runs to set a target of 68 runs. The Blackcaps could only manage to score 61 for 6 in 8 overs.
Earlier winning the toss New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson elected to bowl first. The openers didn’t last long as Kiwi pacer Tim Southee sent both Rohit Sharma (8) and Shikhar Dhawan (6) back to the pavilion in consecutive deliveries during the third over of the game. Skipper Virat Kohli (13) too gave his wicket after playing couple of big shots. He gave an easy catch to Trent Boult from a delivery of Ish Sodhi. Young Shreyas Iyer couldn’t handle the pressure well and gave his wicket while trying to play a big shot Sodhi. Manish Pandey played a handy knock of 17 before his departure. Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya remained not out on 14 along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (0*) as the hosts scored 67/5 in their allotted eight overs.
However, the Indian pacers and spinners bowled their hearts out in a short but exciting contest. They were well supported by agile fielders.
A wily Bhuvneshwar Kumar mixed it up nicely after being hit for a gigantic six by Colin Munro (7) while Jasprit Bumrah was splendid with his line and length.
Bhuvneshwar cleaned up Martin Guptill (1) with a slower one while Bumrah saw the back of dangerous Munro.
The early wickets pegged New Zealand back and they could never settle and eventually buckled under pressure.
Young leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal too contributed in choking the Kiwis, giving away only eight runs in his quota of two overs.
Hardik Pandya bowled the last over with the Kiwis requiring 19 runs. A massive six by Colin de Grandhomme threw tension in the air for the home fans but Pandya managed to pull it off.