“The pitch at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi “took us by surprise,” said India captain Hardik Pandya, after New Zealand won the opening T20I by 21 runs on Friday. As India’s batting collapsed under the Ranchi lights, the Kiwis seized a commanding 1-0 lead in the three-game series. Despite Washington Sundar’s first fifty in the format, India was bowled out for 155 for nine in 20 overs while chasing a total of 177. To make matters worse for the batting side, Hardik claimed his team had given up some additional runs.
New Zealand wins their first game of the trip and takes a commanding 3-0 lead in the Twenty20 International matchup. It seemed like India would keep them to about 150 runs in their first innings, but Daryl Mitchell scored 27 runs off of Arshdeep Singh’s 20th over to turn the game.
That resulted in a score of 176, which was better than par for New Zealand. India didn’t get off to a good start, losing three starters before the offensive phase even began. There was a brief resurgence thanks to Hardik and Surya, but after they left, Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda were unable to meet the steadily increasing run rate. Santner was the most effective of the bowlers, claiming figures of 2 for 11 from his allotted four overs, including a maiden over to Surya.
“No one thought the wicket would play like that, and both teams were surprised. But they played better cricket, which is why the outcome turned out that way. In fact, the new ball turned more than the old one did, and the way it bounced and turned around caught us off guard. But we got it back and were still in the game until Surya and I was batting. In retrospect, I don’t think this wicket was worth 177. We were bad with the ball, and we ended up giving away 25 more runs than we should have,” said Hardik at the post-match ceremony.
Twitter Reacts:
Basically last over.. before 19th team was really in good position. https://t.co/QfLuwdLw3z
Advertisement— 🦋Shreya🦋 (@shreya11mehra) January 28, 2023
He said right !! https://t.co/Qy7VV7XspP
— Ravi Yadav (@RaviYadav708) January 28, 2023
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Yes, the batting wasn't great, understandable in difficult conditions but this is where we lost the game. https://t.co/pcUbXayZkW
Advertisement— Sayanth (@Sayanth_rajith) January 28, 2023
Very Babar Azam of Pandya. https://t.co/UPbVoI3Ufc
— Agniveer Arteta (@backtotrolling) January 28, 2023
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Arshdeep ka naam direct lo bhai https://t.co/TSgdvQ4My8
Advertisement— 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓵 𝓙𝓪𝓲𝓷 (@vishjain61) January 28, 2023
CourtesyHarsh-deep !! Am sure Hardik meant that https://t.co/BKfgTM7Jul
— Aroop Datta 🇮🇳 (@AroopDatta) January 28, 2023
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We kya hota hai
Khud toh 33 run diye 3 over mein Bhai
What kind of a captain is he jo har bar bowlers par blame lagake nikal jata hai
Batting kitni Chu thi uska kya be https://t.co/r29TMkQcHoAdvertisement— A✨ (@awkwardhumanhu) January 28, 2023
Because our batting line-up is Zimbabwe level https://t.co/efWkvtRx8M
— project Yelan (@thatLusailNight) January 28, 2023
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Yeh aadmi hai ya kya hai , khud 3 over main 33 de gaya. Umran 1 over main 16.
AdvertisementPitch ka 0 idea hota hai isse and yeh bhi nahi pata kaunse bowler ko kab over dena hai.
Same Arsh was performing very well under Rohit , Hardik ke under 2 series main saari form chali gayi 💀💀 https://t.co/z8QjiFQJpx
Advertisement— Paulo Dybala won Argentina the world cup 🇦🇷 (@Punjabi_Mou) January 28, 2023
