4 talking points from India’s series-leveling win at Auckland

After a record-breaking loss in the first T20I, India needed something special to come back into the three-match series, and they did exactly just that to win the 2nd match by 7 wickets with seven balls to spare and thereby making the final T20I a decider.

It was a surprising decision at the toss from New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson when he won the toss and decided to bat first on a ground which has seen some very high scores being chased down quite comfortably.

Despite some criticism from the last game’s performances, Rohit Sharma decided to play with the same XI to give them all another chance to prove themselves.

His bowling group, after going for over 200 in the previous match, didn’t disappoint this time around as they restricted the Kiwis to 158, which was well below par on that wicket and especially the size of the ground.

The only way New Zealand could have defended the total was to pick up few early wickets and put pressure on a relatively inexperienced Indian middle order. But that didn’t happen as both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got the team off to a wonderful start and that was good enough for the side to cross the line without much fuss.

It was a great day for statisticians around the world as Rohit Sharma broke a few records along the way.

He became the highest run scorer in T20I cricket at the moment with 2,288 runs, overtaking New Zealand’s Martin Guptill and also scored the most number of fifties in this format, his 20th, overtaking Virat Kohli’s 19. Also the Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan combination has scored 1,480 runs, which is the most number of runs together in T20Is.

Lets look at four talking points from India’s seriesleveling win at Auckland:

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#1 Rohit Sharma's brilliant captaincy

New Zealand Black Caps v India - International T20 Game 2

It is no more a surprise to see Rohit Sharma lead a side very well. We all know that he has led Mumbai Indians to three IPL titles and has also done well while leading the country in Virat Kohli's absence.

Rohit’s leadership skill was once again on show even before the first ball was bowled. After a disastrous loss in the previous game, almost any captain would have decided to change either the balance or the personnel in the side but Rohit Sharma felt that it would be unfair to drop someone just after one game and stuck with the same side.

He bowled Krunal Pandya from the end where the leg side boundary for right-handers was the longer side and also had the courage to use his left arm spinner inside the powerplay overs. Krunal didn’t disappoint his captain as he finished with 3-28 from his 4-over quota and that went a long way in restricting the Kiwis to 158.

#2 Krunal Pandya’s guile with the ball

New Zealand Black Caps v India - International T20 Game 2

After getting a pasting in the first T20I, Krunal Pandya came back very strongly to show the world that he is now a more improved and a matured bowler who doesn't bother with one bad game.

The left-arm spinner showed a lot of guile on a ground which was peculiar in shape and had very small boundaries at some places.

He smartly changed his pace throughout his spell and one must be pretty good to deceive a batsman like Kane Williamson. He was tossing the ball for a few deliveries and suddenly slipped in an arm ball slightly shorter that hurried off the wicket to trap Williamson right in front while he was trying to pull the ball.

His spell would have been a lot better if not for de Grandhomme’s two sixes in one over but in the end finished with just 7 runs an over to go with 3 wickets. Any captain would take that spell from a spinner on a good batting wicket and a small ground.

#3 India’s death bowling

New Zealand Black Caps v India - International T20 Game 2

After early wickets rocked New Zealand, the big hitting of Colin de Grandhomme and some smart batting from Ross Taylor brought them right back in the contest. The pair put on 77 runs at a very good rate and were looking good to post a very challenging total.

However it all changed when de Grandhomme was caught by Rohit Sharma at covers off Hardik Pandya. The New Zealand lower middle order of Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn and Tim Southee came in and tried to hit a few maximums but some incredible death bowling made life really difficult for the home side.

Even the free flowing Ross Taylor couldn’t get going against one of the best death bowlers in the world right now, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

India bowled a lot wider and it was looking like a clear plan not to give anything in the hitting zone for the Kiwi batsmen, who like to get underneath the ball and heave it over mid wicket.

India would be even more happy that they could restrict the opposition in the end overs without a certain Jasprit Bumrah. This augurs well for the Men in Blue as we are in the World Cup year.

#4 Rohit Sharma shows class with the bat

New Zealand Black Caps v India - International T20 Game 2

Chasing a modest total of 159 can be tricky at times. But Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan came out with lot of intent to put the New Zealand bowlers off their radar.

In particular, India’s captain Rohit Sharma was in the fifth gear right from the word go as he made full use of the powerplay.

When in full flow, Rohit is one of the best batsman to watch and it was yet another brilliant batting display from the elegant right-hander. He made his intentions very clear when he pulled a quick short ball off Lockie Ferguson's first delivery well in front of square and that meant he was seeing the ball very nicely.

Rohit is one of the very few batsman in world cricket who can play both bludgeoning as well as caressing through the field shots and the entire range was on view for the packed Eden Park crowd.