India defeated New Zealand at Raipur’s Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Cricket Stadium clinching the three-match series by 8 wickets.The hosts were in brilliant bowling form, which saw Mohammed Shami take three wickets for India. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, and Washington Sundar bagged two dismissals, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav took a wicket each. Captain Sharma departed for 51 runs and Virat Kohli was dismissed for 11.
On a pitch with some amount of grass cover, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami found seam movement to run through the New Zealand top and middle-order, reducing them to 15/5 at one stage. Passionate fans who flocked to the remotely located Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium for Raipur’s first international game, feared an early finish.
Though Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, and Mitchell Santner played some defiant knocks, they were unable to bail their side out of trouble and the pressure was maintained by Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav.
India skipper Rohit Sharma opted to ball first after winning the toss. His decision to bowl first brought was rewarded immediately as Shami got one to nip back in and go past Finn Allen’s flick to crash into the stumps on the fifth ball of the innings. Shami and Siraj were on the money for the next five overs, making life difficult for the New Zealand batters.