Hence proved! India stands the best performer in the shortest format of cricket scoring 166/5 in 19.4 overs.
The blue team loused up towards the end before recovering in time to nudge a five-wicket defeat for New Zealand. “It didn’t come as easy as we expected, so great learning for the guys, to understand what needs to be done, not about power-hitting all the time,” said Rohit who led the team as T20I captain at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur on Wednesday evening.
Panegyrizing Suryakumar Yadav for his 40-ball 62, he said, “Sky (Suryakumar) is a very important player for us in the middle, plays spin well.”India’s chase towards win in the opening T20 International featured debutant Venkatesh Iyer hit his first ball in international cricket for four before Rishabh Pant got the winning runs.
Seasoned duo from New Zealand Martin Guptill and Chapman contributed to a 109-run stand for the second wicket, setting new milestones for their work as a team. The duo swiped past the previous record of 107 between Colin Munro & Martin Guptill. Also, Chapman became the first batter in T20I history to score a half-century playing for two different sides (NZ and Hong Kong).
The Indian team has embarked on a new journey with Rohit as T20 skipper and Rahul Dravid as head coach.