Spinners, Mitchell give New Zealand first victory of India tour

New Zealand bounced back after suffering a 3-0 clean sweep in the ODI series to claim first blood against India in the T20Is, beating the Men in Blue by 21 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series in Ranchi. Half-centuries from Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell took the Blackcaps to a commanding total of 176 on a turning pitch before Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell spun a web around the Indians with the ball. Washington Sundar fought hard with a valiant half-century, but the Men in Blue succumbed to a 21-run defeat, finishing on 155 for nine in 20 overs.

Having been put into bat by Hardik Pandya, New Zealand got off to an excellent start to their innings thanks to a blazing cameo from Finn Allen. The hard-hitting opener laced six boundaries in the opening 4.1 overs, racing away to 35 off 22 balls. Allen creamed Washington Sundar for a six off the first ball of the fifth over, but the off-spinner made a spirited comeback, dismissing the opener off the next delivery and also taking a sublime diving catch to send back Mark Chapman four balls later.

Devon Conway carried the torch for New Zealand following that double strike, milking the spinners for singles and taking on Umran Malik for three boundaries to reach his half-century. Conway’s well-paced knock allowed New Zealand to go hard in the back half of the innings, and Daryl Mitchell launched a stunning assault in the death overs to take New Zealand to an above-par score.

Mitchell kicked things off with a pair of sixes against Hardik Pandya in the 17th over before smashing 26 runs in the final six balls from Arshdeep Singh to bring up a 26-ball 50 and give the Kiwis some momentum to end their innings.

Chasing 177 on a difficult pitch, the hosts stuttered in the powerplay, losing three wickets in the first  3.1 overs. Michael Bracewell castled Ishan Kishan with a beauty that kissed the top of off-stump, Rahul Tripathi nicked off to Jacob Duffy, while Mitchell Santner removed the in-form Shubman Gill. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya led the India fightback after the early collapse.

The pair took no risks against the spin of Santner but were aggressive against the rest of the Kiwi attack. The duo added 68 runs to set up the run chase for the hosts, but Yadav’s untimely dismissal for 47 in the 12th over pegged India back. Hardik Pandya followed Yadav to the pavilion one over later, and despite some late heroics from Washington Sundar, who scored his maiden T20I 50, India fell 21 runs short to fall 1-0 behind in the three-match series.