India vs New Zealand: An unwanted first for Rohit Sharma in Hamilton thriller

The Kiwis edged India by four runs to clinch the series 2-1 after winning the first match by 80 runs and then being on the losing side in Auckland in the second T20I.

Stand-in-skipper Rohit Sharma had an average outing with the bat and that didn’t help India’s cause in the third and final T20I of the series against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday. The Kiwis edged India by four runs to clinch the series 2-1 after winning the first match by 80 runs and then being on the losing side in Auckland in the second T20I.

File image of India opener Rohit Sharma. (AP)

New Zealand set a target of 213 for India and the visitors didn’t get the ideal start required to chase down the formidable score. While Rohit held the innings from one end as wickets kept falling on the other, he couldn’t generate the required momentum to propel India’s run-rate.

Rohit faced 32 deliveries and could muster only 38 inclusive of three boundaries and no maximums. Interestingly, this is Rohit’s longest T20I innings without a six. Moreover, this was Rohit’s fourth lowest strike-rate in a T20I innings (at least 30 runs).

Colin Munro’s explosive 72 set New Zealand up for victory with a four-run win over India in a cliff-hanger finish. India looked to be on the ropes when they needed 47 off the last three overs. Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya together plundered 32 off overs 18 and 19 but Tim Southee restricted the duo to 11 in the 20th.

It was also a vital knock from Munro, whose position in the New Zealand side ahead of the World Cup had been in question after a string of failures in the ODI and Twenty20 matches against India.