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Rain playing spoilsport in the third T20I between India and New Zealand summed up the way the T20I series was repeatedly interrupted by inclement weather. The second innings of the match lasted just nine overs as rain in Napier ensured no further play was possible.
Interestingly, India were 75/4 at that stage, exactly at the DLS par score at that point. This meant that the game finished in a tie and the Men In Blue ended up winning the series 1-0.
There were several moments in the game that became talking points for fans. On that note, let's take a look at three such moments:
#3 Mohammed Siraj dismissing Glenn Phillips
Mohammed Siraj continues to grow from strength to strength in white-ball cricket, especially in the shortest format. On a ground like McLean Park with small square boundaries, Siraj's figures of 4/17 are almost difficult to believe.
The speedster hit hard lengths and made life difficult for the New Zealand batters. The most important wicket of the four would arguably be that of Glenn Phillips. The swashbuckling right-hander has been in tremendous form of late and looked set to take the game away from India on Tuesday.
This was when Siraj surprised him with a well-directed short ball and Phillips could only lob it towards fine leg. Bhuvneshwar Kumar ran in and completed a fantastic catch. From 130/2, the Kiwis collapsed to 160 and Phillips' wicket proved to be a body blow for them.
#2 Hardik Pandya's faint edge
New Zealand got off to an incredible start in the second innings, picking up the top three Indian batters for just 21 runs on the board. This was a brilliant start, keeping in mind how damaging the wickets column would be to the side chasing with rain and DLS coming in play.
Indian captain Hardik Pandya came out all guns blazing as he scored 22 runs off his first eight deliveries. However, this counter-attack could have ended in the sixth over had New Zealand picked up the faint edge on the stump mic.
Lockie Ferguson bowled a back-of-the-length delivery at pace and Hardik tried to smash it through the covers. The ball seemed to just miss the edge of his bat and was collected by Devon Conway behind the stumps.
However, replays later showed that there was a spike on Ultra Edge just as the ball passed the bat. This meant that had the Kiwis reviewed the decision, Hardik would have been dismissed and the DL par score would have increased even further.
#1 Mitchell Santner's misfield
Fielding is a crucial part of T20 cricket and it is always a game of small margins. Mitchell Santner's misfield proved that the aforementioned sentence isn't a cliche. India were 74/4 after 8.5 overs with the rain gradually starting to gather pace.
Ish Sodhi bowled a loopy delivery outside off stump, which Deepak Hooda just guided towards Santner at point. Santner failed to gather it properly and the misfield allowed the batters to take the score to 75/4 after nine overs.
Interestingly, the DLS par score after nine overs was also 75 and coincidentally, the umpires decided to bring the covers on as the rain got heavier. As the Men in Blue were on par with the DLS score, the game ended in a tie. Had Santner saved the single, New Zealand would have won the game and leveled the series.
