India’s formidable batting line-up finally met resistance as New Zealand outplayed the hosts by 50 runs to claim its first victory of the series at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Wednesday. Despite a sensational late assault from Shivam Dube, India’s chase never truly recovered from a disciplined bowling effort that expertly used the evening dew.
Asked to bat, New Zealand posted an imposing 215/7, built around a ferocious start by Tim Seifert and a blistering finish from Daryl Mitchell. Seifert was given an early let-off when a leading edge dropped safely beyond a backpedalling Jasprit Bumrah, and the miss proved costly as he launched into a stand-and-deliver assault that carried the visitors past 50 in quick time.
India briefly stemmed the flow when a wandering dog interrupted play, and soon after Devon Conway paid for trying to accelerate, finding Rinku Singh at deep cover. Bumrah then produced a moment of brilliance to dismiss Rachin Ravindra off his own bowling.
Seifert attempted to restart the charge but misread Arshdeep Singh’s change of pace and again found Rinku at long-off. The fielder became a recurring figure as Kuldeep Yadav tempted Glenn Phillips into another catch, followed by a fourth grab to end Zakary Foulkes’s stay. Mitchell, however, remained unfazed, smashing 27 off nine balls at the death to lift New Zealand to their second-highest T20I total against India.
India’s reply faltered early as Abhishek Sharma fell for a golden duck and Suryakumar Yadav departed cheaply. Sanju Samson and Rinku counterattacked to keep India afloat through the PowerPlay, but Mitchell Santner struck twice to tilt the contest decisively.
With the asking rate soaring, Dube produced a breathtaking cameo, hammering Ish Sodhi for 29 runs and racing to a 15-ball fifty. His dismissal, however, ended India’s last real hope. Playing one batter short, with Arshdeep replacing the injured Ishan Kishan, India lacked the firepower to finish the chase, as New Zealand sealed a statement win that halted the hosts’ batting juggernaut.
