1st T20I: India reach a new low in T20 cricket as New Zealand rout Rohit Sharma and Co.
A hapless Indian team suffered their biggest ever loss in T20 cricket as New Zealand crushed the Men in Blue by a mammoth 80 runs in the 1st T20I in Wellington. A clinical performance by the Kiwis saw them steamroll India as they posted a gigantic 219/6 after being put to bat. India were eventually strangled by the spinners as they were bundled out for 139.
New Zealand outclassed the Men in Blue in every department as visitors faced their biggest ever defeat in terms of runs. Their biggest ever loss earlier was a 49-run loss against Australia at Bridgetown, 2010.
Intresentigly, the four most heaviest defeats that India have suffered, have come by the hands of the Blackcaps as they dominate the list. The heavy losses against Kiwis came in 2016 and 2017 with 46 and 47 runs respectively.
The hosts set the humongous target of 220 courtesy the destructive show from opener Tim Seifert. He smashed 48-ball 84 runs before Khaleel Ahmed dismantled his stumps.
While Indian batsmen were not able to cope up with the big target and opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma (1) and Shikhar Dhawan (29) departing within the Powerplay overs that resulted in the visitors collapsed on 139. Veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni top-scored for Men in Blue with a 31-ball 39.
In the post-match presentation, India's stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma accepted the flaws from the opening game.
"It was a tough game. We were outplayed in all three departments. We didn't start well and we knew that 200 wasn't going to be an easy chase although the grounds are small here. But we kept losing wickets and that threw us off. We have chased such targets in the past and that is why we played with eight batsmen, but we didn't have small partnerships and that made it tough while chasing such a big target", said Rohit Sharma
