India beat NZ in Nagpur T20I; Abhishek, Phillips shine: Stats
What's the story
After losing the ODI series, India beat New Zealand in the 1st T20I at Nagpur's VCA Stadium. The hosts racked up a mammoth 238/7, riding on Abhishek Sharma's blistering knock and a formidable finish from Rinku Singh. In response, Glenn Phillips's blistering knock bolstered the Kiwis. However, they fell 48 runs short. Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Dube took two wickets each.
Start
India off to steady startÂ
Abhishek and Sanju Samson took India off to a sturdy start after NZ elected to field. However, the latter departed after scoring two boundaries. Owing to his shuffle back in the crease, he fell prey to a soft dismissal in the second over. Another such dismissal cut short Ishan Kishan's two-boundary knock. India were down to 27/2 in 2.5 overs.
Partnership
Abhishek-SKY stand powers India
Abhishek capitalized on his strong start. He was unstoppable after hitting a maximum down the ground. The left-hander found due support from skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who kept punishing the poor balls. The duo took India to 68/2 in six overs. Abhishek, who hammered Phillips for three successive boundaries, brought up his half-century off just 22 balls. Therefore, India reached 100 within nine overs.
Knocks
Santner breaks 99-run partnershipÂ
Abhishek didn't stop his boundary-hitting spree as India raced to 117/2 in 10 overs. The 11th over, bowled by Mitchell Santner, ended Suryakumar's stay. He departed for a 22-ball 32 (4 fours and 1 six). In the 12th over, Ish Sodhi dismissed Abhishek after conceding two successive maximums to him. The latter hammered 5 fours and 8 sixes in his 35-ball 84.
Milestone
Abhishek completes 5,000 T20 runs
Abhishek, India's most prolific batter in T20Is at present, raced to 5,000 T20 runs. The 82nd run from his blade brought up this milestone. Abhishek's latest knock took his T20I strike rate past 190 (190.92), the highest in the format. In 34 matches, the left-handed dasher has raced to 1,199 runs at an average of 37.46. This was his seventh T20I half-century.
Feats
More feats for Abhishek
According to Cricbuzz, this was the eighth instance of Abhishek reaching his fifty in 25 or fewer balls, the most in T20Is. Phil Salt, Suryakumar, and Evin Lewis have seven such scores. Abhishek's fifty is also the fastest for India against NZ in T20Is. He now has the joint second-most sixes in a T20I innings against NZ, with Kieron Pollard (8 in Auckland, 2020).
Landmark
SKY completes 9,000 T20 runs
Earlier, Suryakumar completed 9,000 runs in T20 cricket. He became only the fourth Indian to touch this mark, joining Virat Kohli (13,543), Rohit Sharma (12,248), and Shikhar Dhawan (9,797). Suryakumar is currently India's third-highest run-getter in T20 Internationals. He is only behind Rohit (4,231) and Kohli (4,188). Across 100 T20Is, the right-handed dasher has 2,820 runs at a strike rate of 163.00.
Finish
Hardik, Rinku power India to 238/7
India, who were four down, rode on Hardik Pandya's impactful knock. He smashed a 16-ball 25 (3 fours and a six), getting India past 180. However, Dube and Hardik's quick dismissals left India at 185/6. Rinku Singh's calculated knock ensured India another strong finish. His final-over blitz took him to 44* off 20 balls (4 fours and 3 sixes).
Start
NZ lose early wickets
Arshdeep Singh gave India an early breakthrough in the form of Devon Conway (0). In the very next over, Hardik sent Rachin Ravindra back, bringing NZ down to 1/2. However, Phillips and Tim Robinson added a 51-run stand to steady the ship. Varun Chakravarthy broke this stand right after the Powerplay with Robinson's scalp. Phillips and Mark Chapman somehow kept NZ's hopes alive.
Threat
India defuse the Phillips threat
As the required run-rate continued to soar, Phillips's counter-attack became even more lethal. He hammered successive sixes against Dube before taking Axar Patel in remand. Patel, who conceded a boundary and a six to Phillips, eventually outfoxed Phillips. The latter departed for a 40-ball 78 (4 fours and 6 sixes). Although Mark Chapman found his attacking rhythm, Chakravarthy ended his stay (39).
Numbers
Phillips races to 2,000 T20I runs
Phillips featured in his first T20I since January last year. And the Kiwi all-rounder reached the landmark of 2,000 runs in the format. In 84 matches, Phillips has raced to 2,007 runs at an average of 31.85. He improved his strike rate to 142.13. Phillips completed his 11th half-century in T20I cricket. He also has two tons.
Information
NZ lose by 48 runs
Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner extended the innings, but NZ had a mountain to climb. Their 46-run stand off 28 balls did no damage. Dube dismissed Mitchell and Kristian Clarke in the final over, with NZ (190/7) falling 48 runs short.