What a fitting end it was to an exciting international career of Ashish Nehra as the left-arm pacer bid adieu to international cricket with a convincing Indian victory. The Men in Blue outplayed the Kiwis in all three departments of the game and romped home by 53 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Riding on brilliant knocks of 80 by Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, India posted a mammoth 202 on the board at the end of 20 overs.
It was an impressive display of batsmanship by the opening duo as they shared a huge partnership for 158 runs for the opening wicket. Dhawan looked in sensational touch from the outset and smashed the New Zealand bowlers all around the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. A little shimmy down the track fetched him a gigantic six which was followed by one more.
Rohit Sharma played himself in started hitting the big shots on a consistent basis after getting past the fifty. Despite their wickets, Virat Kohli played a breezy cameo of 26 of 10 deliveries which included three sixes. MS Dhoni faced just two deliveries, but in his very first delivery, the former skipper smashed a slower delivery from Tim Southee for a 93 m six.
The Kiwis were never really in the chase. Hardik Pandy’as sensational running catch was the highlight of the day as the Indian bowlers ran away with wickets at regular intervals. Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel never really allowed the Black Caps to force their way back into the match. Tom Latham played a useful knock of 39 and was the lone warrior for the Kiwis.
Wickets kept falling as there was no way back for the visitors. Mitchell Santner showed why he is regarded as a useful batsman as the left-hander scored a quickfire 27 of 14 deliveries which helped New Zealand reach 149 at the end of their 20 overs. Kiwis skipper Kane Williamson was disappointed with their performance and hailed Team Indian on clinical performance. He also congratulated his former Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate Ashish Nehra on a terrific career which lasted 18 years.
This is what Williamson had to say in the post match-presentation ceremony
“It was a disappointing performance tonight. We were very poor on the field. India played superbly. There are no excuses. We needed to play better. India was outstanding and never gave us a sniff. The spinners bowled really well but the bowlers around them went for a lot of runs. I want to congratulate Ashish on a fantastic career. I have played against him and with him, always a gentleman on and off the field.”
