And it’s the last T20I between India and New Zealand. India have already won the series and they now want to clean sweep this New Zealand side and go into the Tests with full confidence. Some might call it a dead rubber but it is quite not a dead rubber as India must have rest some of their key players to be ready for the Test Series starting in some days. We will review the full match and also see who won Man of the Match in India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I. We will also see who won Player of the Series award in India vs New Zealand T20I series.
After winning third consecutive toss, Rohit Sharma decided to bat first and give batsmen a challenge. KL Rahul and Ashwin were rested. And for the New Zealand, captain Tim Southee was rested and Mitchell Santner was the stand in captain. And what a start India got!! After six overs, India scored 69 runs without the loss of any wicket. And India were in for a very big total. But New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner pulled things back for New Zealand in the middle overs with his 3 wickets. India lose wickets in quite succession. India, at one time were in hopes of big total but the useful cameos from the middle order and brilliant batting by Harshal Patel and Deepak Chahar at the end took India to 184 runs. Its a huge total.
New Zealand reply
New Zealand can’t start well to chase a big total. Left Arm Spinner Axar Patel was the man to dismantle to top order of New Zealand batting in the powerplay only. And Axar Patel took 3 wickets in the powerplay. After the powerplay, New Zealand scored 37 runs but they have lost 3 wickets in that course. Martin Guptill was the only man who showed some fight and made his fifty. But when Yuzvendra Chahal got him in the 11th over, the contest was over. India didn’t take much time to clear off the New Zealand innings. New Zealand were bundled for just 111 runs in the 18th over. India won this match by 73 runs.
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Who won Man of the Match in India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I?
Axar Patel, for his brilliant spell, won the Man of the Match award in India vs New Zealand match. He bowled brilliantly in the powerplay and took all the three wickets in the powerplay. He gave only 9 runs in his 3 overs and took 3 wickets. Axar Patel dismantled the top order of New Zealand batting lineup. He started with a flurry wickets and then others bowlers followed him and win the game for India. When the pitch is providing help, Axar becomes very lethal. We saw it in the Ahmedabad Tests as well.
Who won Player of the Series in India vs New Zealand T20I series?
Rohit Sharma, for his brilliant outing in all the three matches, was adjudged as the Player of the Series in India vs New Zealand T20I series. He is the highest run scorer in this series. he scored 159 runs in three matches combined. Rohit Sharma is responsible for providing India the good starts in all the three matches. He managed captaincy and batting very well.
IND vs NZ 3rd T20I: Other Players who also deserved Man of the Match today.
Other players who could have been the potential contenders for Man of the Match in this India vs New Zealand match other than Axar Patel were:
- Rohit Sharma– Rohit Sharma played very well today just like other days. He along with Ishan Kishan is responsible for a solid start India got. Rohit has the major runs in the Powerplay. He played the ball on its merit and punished all the bowlers. Even he dismissed on a ball which caught by Ish Sodhi by chance. It was a very difficult chance. For his brilliant performance, he can be the other deserving candidate for Man of the Match award winner in this India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I.
- Mitchell Santner– Mitchell Santner had a golden arm today. He took the first three wickets in his first 2 overs. Santner got rid of settled opener Ishan Kishan in his very first over and also got Suryakumar Yadav in the same over on 0 runs. He bowled a brilliant spell in which he only gave 27 runs and took 3 wickets. He also rotated his bowlers well as he was the captain in todays game.
And with this win, India clean sweep the series. This is a very good start to Rohit-Dravid era. In their very first series in the new roles they have clean sweep an opponent. And it was not a weak team. It is the Runners Up in the T20 World Cup 2021.
