India v New Zealand, 2nd T20I - New Zealand Player Ratings
New Zealand beat India by 40 runs.
After a thoroughly dominating win in the first T20I at Delhi, team India arrived in Rajkot riding high on confidence. They had got all their boxes ticked perfectly in the first game and looked to consolidate on the winning momentum. For the visitors New Zealand, the match at Rajkot was all about survival in the series. Also, they had to justify their number 2 ranking in the T20 format of the game.
Needless to say, they did everything right on the day right from the word go. The openers, Colin Munro and Martin Guptill, stitched a marathon 105 run opening stand to give the Kiwis a brisk start on a batting belter. After the departure of Guptill, Munro took things in his hand and almost singlehandedly propelled the New Zealand team to a total of 196.
Munro finished with a brilliant century – his second in this format of the game in international cricket. In the run chase, the Indian side could never really pick momentum as the wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Skipper Virat Kohli did score a decent 65 but in the end, the ask was a little too much. For the visitors, it was a spirited show indeed.
Here is a look at the New Zealand Player Ratings for the match:
Martin Guptill – 7/10
Martin Guptill had a merry time at the crease on the day. He was one of the few Kiwi batsmen who had failed to get a go on the tour thus far. He needed to get runs under his belt for his own good more than anything else. Guptill managed to get a decent start on the day and scored a well timed 45 off 41 deliveries. He added a match-winning 105 run opening stand with Colin Munro.
Colin Munro – 9.5/10
Colin Munro was the star of the night. The dashing left hander, who has the second fastest fifty in T20Is to his name, scored a brilliant ton to propel the New Zealand side to a winning total. He smashed a 54-ball century – his second in T20Is. He ended up with an unbeaten 109 off just 58 deliveries with 7 fours and as many sixes. With the ball, he managed to dismiss Shreyas Iyer on the day.
Kane Williamson – 5/10
Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson arrived at the crease after the dismissal of Martin Guptill in the match. He had the base set and needed to go all guns blazing right from the word go. Williamson could not score much and perished after scoring just 12 in his attempt to hit the long boundaries. With the captaincy hat, he was spot on with his frequent bowling changes.
Tom Bruce – 5/10
Tom Bruce did not have much to do in the game. He arrived towards the fag end of the New Zealand innings and finished with an unbeaten 12 to his name. He hit two fours during his stay at the crease on the day. He would hope to get more chances in the matches to follow for the Black caps.
Glenn Philips – 6/10
Glenn Philips walked in the Kiwi team at the expense of Tom Latham in the match. Philips had a pretty decent first show in the series. Albeit his services with the bat were not needed on the day, his glovework was quite decent. He pocketed a couple of catches in the game.
Henry Nicholls – 3/10
The services of Henry Nicholls were not needed on the day with the bat. The hard hitting batsman only warmed up the dug out seat during the New Zealand innings kudos to the Munro show on the night. On the field, he had a decent time.
Colin de Grandhomme – 3/10
The Kiwis certainly did not use their prime all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme to much use on the day. Munro dominated the batting innings and hence the services of the middle-order were not needed at all in the match. Grandhomme’s services with the ball were not needed much either. He was given only one over to bowl in the game and he returned with figures of 0/10.
Mitchell Santner – 6/10
Left arm spinner MItchell Santner had a decent outing with the ball. The track at Rajkot was a batting belter and it was never going to be easy for the bowlers on the night. Despite this fact, Santner gave away only 31 runs in his spell of four overs. He also took the key wicket of Virat Kohli at a time when Kohli wanted to break the shackles.
Adam Milne – 5/10
Pacer Adam Milne was drafted in the lineup at the expense of Tim Southee, who was slightly expensive in the previous game. Milne bowled exceptionally well with the new ball and kept things tight in the powerplay. His first three overs yielded only 14 runs. A poor final over saw his figures finish up with 30 in four overs. He went wicketless in the match.
Ish Sodhi – 7/10
Ish Sodhi was arguably the most impressive bowler on the day for the New Zealand team. Sodhi bowled tight lines and kept the run flow in check in the middle overs. He bowled a beauty of a delivery to castle up Hardik Pandya at a crucial juncture of the game. He was very economical with the ball and returned with figures of 1/25 in his allocated 4 overs.
Trent Boult – 8.5/10
As Harsha Bhogle rightly mentioned, Trent Boult proved yet again why he is one of the finest new ball bowlers in world cricket at the moment. Boult returned with top nnumbers of 4/34 in his four overs. He accounted for the dismissal of both the in-form Indian openers in the very same over to send the Indians on the backfoot. Later, he dismissed the big man MS Dhoni as well.
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