India beat New Zealand by 7 runs to win the ultimate T20I and whitewash hosts 5-0
Bengaluru: It’s history in New Zealand as Team India whitewashed the hosts 5-0 by beating them in the fifth and ultimate T20I at Mount Maunganui.
Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat. With good contributions from KL Rahul (45 off 33 balls) captain himself scoring 60 off 41 balls and Shreyas Iyer scoring 33 off just 31 balls, India posed a challenging 163/3 in the allotted 20 overs.
Chasing the total, New Zealand batsmen failed to put up a consistent show.
It was only wicket keeper TL Seifert and Ross Taylor who came out with the promise of reaching the target but they failed as well.
Seifert scored 50 off 30 balls while Taylor scored a commanding 53 off just 47 balls.
They were particularly hostile against Shivam Dube plundering 34 runs in just one over. It was Bumrah who displayed a phenomenal performance with stats of just 12 runs given in his quota of 4 overs and taking 3 wickets, rightfully winning the man of the match award.
KL Rahul, the wicketkeeper ended up winning the man of the series trophy.
Here’s what the captains and the man of the match had to say:
Virat Kohli: All of us are really proud of how we played. It's about finding ways to win. Today, all these young guys were on the field after Rohit's unfortunate injury and them coming together and handling the pressure well is great to see. We need everyone to be the best versions of themselves. These kind of victories give more satisfaction than one-sided wins. Although the scoreline may not reflect, New Zealand is in great hands with Kane Williamson leading them, they are side headed in the right direction.
Tim Southee: Another close one, unfortunately on the wrong side. Can't give India a sniff.(Looking ahead to the ODIs) Different format, different people come in, it's a format in which we have done well.
KL Rahul: is the player of the series: Very pleased, great to be standing here with a five-nil. We have been playing exceptional T20 cricket, to come here and execute our skills every game, to have squeezed out wins, is a confidence booster. Not thinking about T20 World Cup, hopefully I can continue playing this way. I think it's a winning habit we have cultivated. The onus is on finding different ways to win. Rohit's alright, unfortunate injury, hopefully he should be fine in a couple of days. Just relax a little for a couple of days, enjoy a five-nil win that doesn't happen often, rest a little.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.