India vs New Zealand 2017, 2nd T20I: Hits and Misses

New Zealand showed why they are the best team in the world in T20 cricket when they pulled off a dominant, relentless win against India in Rajkot on Saturday (November 4).

Powered by a ginormous opening partnership between Martin Guptill and Colin Munro, the hosts got hold of a strong total of 196-2 at the end of 20 overs.

India had a nightmarish start to the chase and could never truly walk out of their misery after that. Skipper Virat Kohli tried to offer some resistance with his well-crafted half century, but he was a lone warrior in India's batting unit on the day.

His contribution wasn't enough though and India succumbed to a 40-run defeat to Kane Williamson's team, who have now equaled the three match series 1-1.

Here are the hits and misses from the game:

#1 Hit: Colin Munro

The New Zealand opening batsman has been a revelation of sorts on this tour of India. He was consistent in the ODI series and has now scored the highest T20 innings against India in India in the shortest format of the game.

He was exceptional from the word go and slammed the Indian bowlers all over the park. The dead pitch definitely assisted his cause, but it seemed like the left-handed batsman could've scored just as smoothly on any other track on the day.

His riveting knock of 109 off 58 deliveries was made even more special by the fact that he remained not out through the innings. Guptill played an archetype second fiddle to Munro in the first half of the innings and the pair put up an opening stand of 105 runs in 11 overs before he was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal for an unlucky score of 45.

Munro was not done even after scoring the century. He came back to bowl during the Indian innings and picked up the vital wicket of Shreyas Iyer in the 9th over of the chase. He was also a live-wire in the field and made some smart saves at the third-man boundary.

#2 Miss: Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been India's find of the season. He looked extremely potent in the Indian Premier League, followed it up with some mind-boggling knocks in the Champions Trophy, and then made a sensational debut against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka this August.

However, the year has quietened down suddenly for the all-rounder after that. He could not make his presence felt in the Australia series last month and hasn't done anything special against New Zealand till now.

On a flat deck like the Rajkot pitch, Pandya was expected to bring some firepower into the Indian batting unit by playing a swashbuckling knock. However, he could score just one run before he was sent back to the pavilion by a wrong'un from Ish Sodhi.

He hardly contributed with the ball too and gave away 14 runs in the only over that he bowled in the first innings.

#3 Hit: Trent Boult

If one bowler stood out amidst the flourishing batsmen on Saturday, it was this left-arm seamer from Rotorua. Tim Southee was unavailable to New Zealand for this game, but Boult ensured that he was not missed by the kiwis.

Bowling with fire and fight in the second innings, he removed Rohit Sharma as well as Shikhar Dhawan in his very first over of the game. The fact that both the Indian openers were sent back to pavilion in the second over of the innings put India on the defensive right from the beginning of the chase.

The credit for this goes entirely to Boult. His out-swinging delivery, which was invariably an in-swinger for Dhawan, was the predator of both him and Sharma. After oozing brilliance in his initial spell of the innings, Boult came back to dismiss MS Dhoni and Axar Patel at its end.

On a pitch that was paradise for the men with the willow, Boult stood out with the cork ball in his hand and picked up 4 wickets with an economy of 8.5

#4 Miss: MS Dhoni

Rarely does it happen that a batsman scores 49 runs at a strike rate of 132.43 and is still included in the misses of the game.

However, it is the high standards that Dhoni has set for himself over the years that make these mediocre innings tarnish his unbelievable legacy. Dhoni came in when India were on a tight spot at 67-4 in 9 overs. This was a situation that needed careful planning and perfect execution from the batsmen on the crease.

It was a tough ask, but nothing Dhoni hasn't handled in his arsenal of experience.

In Rajkot, however, it seemed like Dhoni, the ultimate finisher, had forgotten how to go about a tough chase. Or that he couldn't do it anymore. He scored two colossal sixes at the start of the innings and was still 16 off 18 deliveries at the end of 15 overs. This was just not good enough in a chase where the required run-rate had gone as high as 17 runs per over.

His inability to switch gears hurt India dearly and lead indirectly to Kohli's wicket, as the skipper was dismissed while trying to compensate for the slow run-rate.

Is it time for Dhoni to hang his boots in T20I?

#5 Hit: Ish Sodhi

On a track where the Indian spinners gave away runs at an economy of 10.7 runs per over, Ish Sodhi not only contained the run flow but also picked up the wicket of Pandya, thereby making a permanent dent on India's chances of winning the game.

He was hit for a six by Dhoni in the third over of his spell, but responded beautifully to give away just 1 run in the next four balls. His economy through the match was just 6.2 rpo, which is even more brilliant considering the fact that India were looking to attack from the word go.

He bowled most of his overs to an in-form Kohli and a pumped Iyer, but yet did not let them score off his bowling. His four-over spell proved vital in ushering the vto the 40-run victory and his ability to contain the run-flow was conducive to creating as well as maintaining pressure on t Indian batsmen.

#6 Miss: The Indian opening partnership

Both Sharma and Dhawan were excellent in the first game at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi, where they scored 80 off 55 and 52 deliveries respectively.

However, they failed miserably both individually and as a pair in Rajkot. They were back to the pavilion after scoring single digits and could not contribute to the chase in the slightest. Their immediate dismissal put extreme pressure on the batsmen to follow and apart from Kohli, no one else could respond positively to that burden.

While their cautious approach works well in ODI cricket, the Indian opening batsmen need to be wary of it in the shortest format of the game, more so in the second innings. T20 cricket is extremely fast and there is no time to make up for slow starts on 9 out of 10 occasions. Sharma and Dhawan must understand that and alter their batting style accordingly to fit the requirements of this format.

They are both talented batsmen and have proven themselves as explosive T20 batsmen in the IPL. Thus, twerking their opening stand a little bit more in T20I chases might not be as big a struggle for them as it might seem from the outset.