New Zealand did not wait until the Super Over to choke this time as their lower-middle order imploded after the fifties from Ross Taylor and Tim Seifert in the 5th and final T20I in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
From 116 for 3 in the 13th over, New Zealand finished with 156 for 9 in 20 overs as they fell short of the 164-run target by 7 runs at the Bay Oval.
India have now become the 1st-ever team in men’s T20I cricket to clean sweep a 5-match series. From arriving in New Zealand with a 3-8 head-to-head record to bossing the shortest format of the game, Virat Kohli’s men have made a terrific start to the T20 World Cup year.
Virat Kohli was rested and stand-in captain Rohit Sharma retired hurt after making a quickfire 60. However, KL Rahul, who took over from Rohit in the 2nd innings, marshaled the troops wonderfully well to add to New Zealand’s woes.
New Zealand lost 3 early wickets and were reduced to 17 for 3 in what looked like a modest chase of 163. However, Ross Taylor and Tim Seifert added 99 for the 4th wicket. The Black Caps were cruising towards a consolation win with both Taylor and Seifert looking set.
However, India pacers stepped into action and triggered a collapse. New Zealand went from 117 for 3 to 141 for 9 in 20 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for India as the senior pacer finished with figures of 3/12 while Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini chipped in with 2 wickets apiece to continue their impressive run in T20Is.
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