Displaying their renowned fighting spirit, New Zealand tore down the pre-tournament form book by inflicting a humiliating 47-run defeat on title favourites and hosts India at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Tuesday.
Routed for 79 in chase of New Zealand’s modest 126, it was only India’s second defeat in Twenty20 internationals this year. The first was at Pune against Sri Lanka where the wicket came under the scanner for being too pacer-friendly. Here, the playing surface was again under the lens. This time the curator seems to have overdone in his attempt to provide the home team the advantage by preparing a turning track.
However, the designs lay exposed when the hunters became the hunted. Here are the best tweets from the match
Cricket fans were flummoxed when Kane Williamson announced at the toss that he had dropped Tim Southee and Trent Bould and New Zealand were going in with three spinners
When Williamson and Martin Guptill started with sixes and all NZ batsmen played like there was no tomorrow
{{/usCountry}}When Williamson and Martin Guptill started with sixes and all NZ batsmen played like there was no tomorrow
{{/usCountry}}Ashish Nehra’s teeth: You may love them, you may hate them but you just cannot ignore them
As a match progressed, the jokes ‘turned’ from the players to pitch
When India began their chase, 127 seemed like a stroll in the park. But after the New Zealand spinners got into action...
India kept losing wickets and runs were hard to come by.
When things go so drastically wrong, all you can do is blame the ‘anti-national’ elements
Alas, India lost on a turning track, despite having batsmen who play spin well