IND vs NZ, 3rd T20I: Rohit Sharma, bowlers guide India to clean sweep against New Zealand
Xtra Time Web Desk: It couldn’t have been a better start for Rohit Sharma as a full-time captain as he led Team India to a clean sweep (3-0) against New Zealand in the T20I series. The Men in Blue defeated BlackCaps by 73 runs in the third T20I at Eden Gardens on Sunday. Rohit scored 56 off 31 balls to set India a daunting score of 184/7. He then used his bowling resources immaculately to restrict the Kiwis to 111 runs in 17.2 overs.
Axar Patel (3/9) bowled accurately and also got one to turn as his three wickets in Powerplay literally ended New Zealand's resistance and the rest was a mere formality.
The visiting New Zealand team looked jaded after a gruelling T20 World Cup campaign and the result won't be a fair reflection of the team's capabilities as they went through the motions for the better part of the three games.
For Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid, this series was about checking what kind of ammunition they have going forward. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin's return to form in white ball cricket augurs well as there is no substitute for experience.
Venkatesh Iyer has shown potential and needs to be persisted with. He bowled steadily and needs more game time to become a middle-order enforcer having been a top-order player.
Harshal Patel is a welcome addition with his sincere efforts but the middle order still remains a bit iffy as it didn't perform up to expectation in any of the games.
Rohit after winning the all-important toss and deciding to bat first, was in sublime form hitting five fours and three sixes as he gave the team a blazing start.
Despite the middle order stuttering yet again the hosts reached a commanding total, thanks to the efforts of Harshal Patel (18 off 11 balls) and Deepak Chahar (21 not out off 8 balls) who used their long handles which fetched 50 runs in last five overs.
Ishan Kishan (29 off 21 balls), Shreyas Iyer (25 off 20 balls) and Venkatesh (20 off 15 balls) all got starts but couldn't convert it into a big score.
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