In what was going to be an enthralling encounter, rain played a spoilsport at Thiruvananthapuram as the series decider was reduced to eight overs per side. Defending a moderate target of 68 runs, the Indian bowlers did a terrific job as they restrict the New Zealand side to win the series 2-1 in an exciting encounter. This is the second T20I series win for India under the leadership of Virat Kohli.
Kane Williamson chose to bowl first winning the toss to exploit the advantages of a wet outfield. Trying to hit the ball from the word go, India kept losing wickets at regular intervals and failed to get the momentum going. With a quota of 2 overs each, Tim Southee was the pick of the bowlers removing both the openers cheaply. Only three batsmen managed to reach the double-figure mark as India posted 67 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in a wicket which was difficult to bat on. Manish Pandey managed to score 17 runs with the help of one four and six each.
With the required-rate of 8.5 runs per over, New Zealand lost both their openers by the score of 8 runs as Jasprit Bumrah, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar was on target once again. The bowlers put up a good show as the New Zealand batsmen found it hard to score runs. Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal were the picks of the bowlers giving away only 9 and eight runs respectively as Bumrah picked up two important wickets of Colin Munro and Henry Nicholls. With 18 runs from the last over, Hardik Pandya defended the score as the New Zealand side fell short by six runs in a short and exciting match.
Jasprit Bumrah once again proved why he so highly rated at a young age. The ICC no 1 T20I bowler picked up two crucial wickets including last match hero Colin Munro. Giving away nine runs with dot balls, Bumrah showed his class as he was adjudged both the man of the match and series award.
Bumrah while talking to Sanjay Manjrekar at the post-match presentation ceremony said,
“It was a good day. Slower delivery was gripping, so we wanted to stick to a basic plan. I and Bhuvi had a chat before the innings. After watching the first innings, we saw them bowling slower deliveries, but our balls weren’t gripping, so we had to bowl it back of a length and mix them with yorkers. I wasn’t thinking too much, just focusing on every ball and on executing them.”