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New Zealand tour

T20I

India fined for slow over-rate

The Indian cricket team has been fined 20 per cent of its match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against New Zealand in the fifth and final Twenty20 International in Mount Maunganui. India stand-in captain Rohit Sharma pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

Wellington: India beat NZ

February 1, 2020: The Times of India

Scoreboard- New Zealand vs India, 2020- T20Is, Wellington
From: February 1, 2020: The Times of India

A nervous New Zealand threw it away yet again as a perseverant India prevailed in the Super Over for the second successive time to take a 4-0 lead in the T20I series. Needing just 11 runs off the last two overs with seven wickets in hand, New Zealand dug a hole for themselves yet again, taking the game to a Super Over two nights after doing the same in Hamilton.

New Zealand managed 13 runs in six balls and India got there effortlessly. “What’s happened in last two T20 games is unbelievable. We are very proud of how we went about our business today,” said India captain Virat Kohli, who struck the winning four.

KL Rahul smashed 10 runs off the first two balls before he was caught. Then, a fired-up Kohli and Sanju Samson finished the game in style. This was after New Zealand won a fourth consecutive toss and opted to field. Their regular captain Kane Williamson didn’t sat out owing to a shoulder niggle. The Indians weren’t off to a great start but Manish Pandey proved his value to the team with an unbeaten 50 off 35 balls, taking the visitors to 165 for eight from 88 for six in the 12th over.

India’s total wasn’t enough considering the batting-friendly conditions but the hosts made life a lot tougher for themselves from a commanding position before succumbing to pressure. The entertaining knocks from Colin Munro (64 off 47) and Time Seifert went in viain (57 off 39).

Mohammed Shami, who was rested, had bowled a brilliant 20th over and Man of the Match Shardul Thakur was up to the task this time, conceding just six runs when the opposition needed seven for victory. With the series already in the bag, India gave opportunity to Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini for the first time in the fivematch series, resting Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Shami. However, none of them was able to make an impact in the game.

Chasing 165, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill early. But Munro and Seifert put on 74 runs for the second wicket. Munro scored a half-century off 38 deliveries but was out against the run of play as Kohli’s direct hit surprisingly found the target after a relay throw from the deep. It was the turning point as New Zealand lost regular wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled Tom Bruce (0), but Seifert found a partner in Ross Taylor as they pushed the score past 150 in the 18th over.

Seifert scored a half-century off 32 balls, including four fours and three sixes. But the great choke was yet to come again. Needing 18 off 18, the Black Caps lost four wickets in the last over bowled by Thakur. Taylor holed out of the first ball, while Seifert was run out two balls later. Daryl Mitchell (4) was caught next and Mitchell Santner (2) couldn’t steal two runs off the last ball. PTI

Tests

Christchurch: NZ wins match, series

Dwaipayan Datta, March 1, 2020: The Times of India

Scoreboard- India vs New Zealand- Tests, Christchurch, 2020
From: Dwaipayan Datta, March 1, 2020: The Times of India

Even though they are still top of the World Test Championship table, India’s 7-wicket loss in the second Test on Monday — and the series whitewash — has highlighted numerous worrying chinks in their armour. TOI analyses where things went awry for Kohli’s men in New Zealand...

India’s loss to New Zealand was their most humiliating since the 1-4 drubbing against England in 2018. The World No. 1 Test team failed miserably as a unit and were beaten in all departments by a gritty New Zealand team which made the most of home conditions. India, though, stay on top of the World Test championship race and the fact that there’s no five-day match for Kohli’s men before November — when they tour Australia for a four-Test series — means this loss may well be forgotten soon. Still, the comprehensive defeat shows that India are far from the formidable outfit that it tries to project itself to be, especially when it comes to Tests away from home. TOI takes a look at the reasons behind the debacle in New Zealand...

An out-of-sorts Kohli

Kohli endured one of his worst patches in recent memory with 38 runs from four innings. The Indian captain, who looked brilliant in England against the moving ball in 2018, went back to his past struggles trying to deal with the same movement on New Zealand’s pitches. The Indian captain isn’t known to commit the same mistake twice, but in the second Test he was dismissed by the same delivery, albeit from a different bowlers — a ball which came back just a bit off the seam and caught him plumb in front. With Kohli fumbling, the rest didn’t have the weapons to launch a counter-attack and it became a bit of a one-way traffic.

Rahane’s steady decline

Ajinkya Rahane has ceased to be the dependable player that he once was. There could be different reasons behind the dramatic decline, but in New Zealand his technique looked inadequate. He was completely at sea in the second innings of the second Test and Neil Wagner almost teased him to throw his wicket away. It’s been a while since he has got big runs away from home against meaningful opposition, and the team management’s patience may soon run thin. The likes of KL Rahul and Shubhman Gill are waiting in the wings and Rahane may have a fight on his hands in trying to hold on to his slot.

Lack of a solid opening partnership

Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw did get some runs individually, but they failed to click together. The difference that a solid opening partnership makes was shown by the Kiwi duo of Tom Latham and Tom Blundell as they chased 132 on a difficult pitch on Monday. They put on 103 together and the match was done, something that India could never do in the series. If they are to stay competitive in Australia later in the year, it’s an area that they need to sort out.

Absence of a genuine swing bowler

The Indian pacers were the bright spot for the team, but the team lacked somebody like a Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar, who can really move the ball around in the air. Trent Boult and Tim Southee did just that, making life miserable for India. India’s pace arsenal of Bumrah, Ishant and Shami are more hit-thedeck bowlers and did their best. But it was the lack of variation that probably hurt India a bit, even though the bowlers can’t really be blamed for the defeat.

Musical chairs with the ’keeper’s slot

We have seen different wicketkeepers for different formats used by many countries, but different ’keepers for different venues is the brainchild of the current Indian team management! Needless to say, it isn’t exactly yielding results. Virat Kohli, despite accepting that Wriddhiman Saha is the better wicketkeeper, is playing Rishabh Pant abroad for his batting abilities, but the left-hander seems to be woefully short of ability against the moving ball. In addition to that, he isn’t exactly brilliant behind the stumps yet, yileding 20 byes in the first innings of a tight Test match in Christchurch.

South Africa home ODI series

1st ODI: rain washes out match

The official attendance was not released since the match was called off without a ball being bowled. The officials here claim that 16,000 of the 23,000 tickets were sold. There were around five thousand people braving the rain and threat of coronavirus all day. 

Series called off

The series was called off because of Covid 19 (virus) fears.