Black Caps fail to shake off hangover

By: Kris Shannon

Three days after being thumped in a World Cup final by their biggest rivals, this loss will sting a little less for the Black Caps.

India chased down New Zealand's 164-6 with five wickets and two balls to spare in Jaipur this morning, surviving a late scare to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 series.

The Black Caps had been looking to shake off any hangover suffered from falling to Australia in the T20 World Cup final on Monday, when they produced their worst bowling performance of the tournament to lose by eight wickets.

But a side with four changes were short of their best in all three facets this morning, although that almost changed in the final overs.

India had looked on course for a comfortable victory at the end of the 16th over, left needing 23 runs. But parsimonious efforts from Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee pulled the Black Caps back into the contest.

Unfortunately for New Zealand, that completed the complement for the three seamers, and with Todd Astle (0-34 from three overs) having taken some punishment, stand-in skipper Southee turned to Daryl Mitchell for the final over.

And given the unenviable task of defending 10 runs, a man with only 11 overs of T20I bowling experience conceded two wides and a game-sealing boundary to Rishabh Pant.

That meant an impressive knock from Mark Chapman (63 from 50) counted for little, the 27-year-old shining in his first appearance since April and sharing in a 109-run stand with Martin Guptill (70 from 42 balls).

The junior partner in that pair hit his first T20I half century for New Zealand and equalled his previous best international score, recorded while playing for Hong Kong in 2015.

After New Zealand were sent in and Mitchell had been removed for a duck, Chapman was aggressive in moving around the crease, initially struggling for timing but beginning to monopolise the strike and build on a slow start.

An effortless pull over square leg illustrated his increasing comfort on a wicket that was becoming more welcoming, as New Zealand reached 65-1 at the halfway mark. Chapman registered his 50 with another six but was then deceived by the flight of Ravi Ashwin, seeing his off stump rocked.

Three deliveries later Ashwin trapped Glenn Phillips for a duck, opening a couple of cracks in what had been a decent platform, but Guptill was unfazed and accelerated his scoring.

New Zealand headed into the final five overs on 123-3 but, after two sixes in three balls, Guptill mis-timed another expansive shot. And neither Tim Seifert (12) nor Rachin Ravindra (seven) was able to push the pace as the Black Caps managed only 20-3 from the final three overs, a limp finish they would come to rue.

That was especially true when contrasted with India's fast start. Southee's second over went for 15 as Rohit Sharma began to tee off, prompting the skipper to introduce Ferguson.

Having missed the T20 World Cup through injury, Ferguson needed only three balls to register 150kph on the radar gun, but Sharma was proving just as destructive with the bat, taking 21 runs off the fifth over from Boult as India raced to 50-0.

Mitchell Santner (1-19) reined in the hosts by removing KL Rahul with his first ball, but India were still finding the fence with enough frequency to be in control at the halfway mark, needing 80 more on a good surface for batting.

Just when it was looking comfortable, Boult set a trap and Sharma (48 from 36) fell straight into it, looping a catch to Ravindra at backward square.

But Suryakumar Yadav soon brought up his 50 with a towering six and, needing wickets to have hope, the Black Caps saw a big chance slip through Boult's fingers on the fine-leg boundary.

Boult would get some revenge from the bowling crease, dismissing Yadav for 62, but the road to the 2022 T20 World Cup began with defeat.