India on Wednesday registered their biggest-ever win in T20 International as they defeated New Zealand by 168 runs. The hero of the match was Shubman Gill, who scored an unbeaten century.
Batting first, India made 234-4 with Gill playing an unbeaten knock of 126 from 63 balls.
In response, New Zealand were bowled out for just 66 runs in 12.1 overs. Hardik Pandya picked up four wickets, while Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik shared two wickets each.
With today’s win, India won the three-match series 2-1.
Reacting to his side’s defeat in the match and series, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said, “It was disappointing definitely but credit to India, they played well. Some of their guys are in great touch at the moment. It is tough to win when you lose five wickets in the powerplay. It can be challenging when the ball is swinging. If you look at the way India played, they took their time early on and when it got flat, they really had a go at us. I guess that time of the year there will be some dew around, most teams might bowl first. We’ve seen some great wickets, if it is like that in October it will be a great World Cup to be part of and to learn.”
Indian captain Hardik Pandya said, “There were so many performances that were exceptional but happy to receive the Man of the Series. I always play the game like this, I try to read what is required, not have preconceived ideas. In my captaincy, I look to keep it simple and back my gut. I have a simple rule If I go down, I will go down on my terms. I wanted to make it a normal game because it was a decider. Hence, we batted first. Hopefully, we can continue performing like this.”
Gill was declared Player Of The Match.