IND vs NZ 2017, 2nd T20I: Colin Munro Inspired Kiwis to Level Series in Rajkot
Nov 5, 2017 at 3:28 PM
Colin Munro was at his sublime best, as the southpaw smashed a scintillating century in the 2nd T20I against India to level the three-match series 1-1. It was a power hitting at its very best, as the opening duo of Munro and Guptill shared a huge stand of 105 runs. The Indian bowling attack was put to the sword with debutant Mohammed Siraj conceding as many as 53 runs in his four overs.
Jasprit Bumrah was the only bright spot for the Men in Blue which eventually helped them managed the Kiwis under 200 runs. Munro looked in ominous touch, as he treated the Indian bowlers with disdain. The Indian bowlers were left clueless, as Munro went hammers and tongs on a consistent basis. He reached his 2nd T20I century in less than 50 deliveries.
He got eventually dismissed on 109 off a mere 58 deliveries, an innings which was studded with seven fours and as many sixes. Despite not bagging a wicket, Bumrah was the standout bowler as far as the hosts are concerned, as the lanky speedster conceded only 23 runs in his allotted four overs. The Men in Blue started off poorly losing both openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in quick time.
Debutant Shreyas Iyer began with some scorching cuts and drives, as he raced off to 18 off just seven deliveries. Skipper Virat Kohli, on the other hand, was also finding his feet and started smashing the boundaries. The spinners bowled pretty well which never allowed the Indians to have a grip on the game.
Kohli struck some magnificent shots, but just when the duo looked set, Iyer gave away his wicket in the bid for quick runs. The ploy to send Hardik Pandya backfired yet again, as Ish Sodhi castled him with a lethal wrong one which Pandya had no answer to. He stood there at the crease for a considerable amount of time looking perplexed with how the ball managed to breach his defence.
MS Dhoni was the next man in and along with Kohli looked to take the home side closer to the target. Dhoni struck some exceptional shots, but those weren’t coming in quick time which was the requirement for the home team.
Despite Kohli and Dhoni being there in the middle, the home team failed to unleash the big shots on a consistent basis which hurt them. Eventually, Virat Kohli was soon dismissed at the score of 65 off 42 deliveries. Dhoni struck three sixes during his knock of 49, but it was way too late for the home team, as they went down by 40 runs.