Napier: Team India clinched the T20I series against New Zealand 1-0 after the third and final match was tied here on Tuesday.
Chasing 161 for victory, the Indians kept losing wickets to reach 75/4 in 9 overs when the skies opened up. It was such a heavy downpour that the umpires had to call off play.
According to Duckworth/Lewis method, India had reached par score at that stage, which meant that the result was a tie.
After the series opener was washed out without a ball being bowled, India won the second game by 65 runs thanks to another super special knock by Suryakumar Yadav.
New Zealand, opting to bat first in Game 3, looked to be on course to a decent total as they reached 130/2 in the 16th over.
But the Indian pacers pulled things back brilliantly as New Zealand collapsed following the dismissals of half-centurions Devon Conway (59) and Glenn Phillips (54). Mohammad Siraj and Arshdeep Singh captured 4 wickets each to run through the New Zealand innings, with the home team losing 8 wickets for the addition of just 30 runs in 4.1 overs.
Surya (13) failed, for a change. Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer didn’t deliver either. Skipper Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on 30 off 18 balls, while Deepak Hooda was 9 not out when it started pouring.
Brief scores: New Zealand 160 all out in 19.4 overs (Devon Conway 59, Glenn Phillips 54; Md Siraj 4/17, Arshdeep Singh 4/37). India 75/4 in 9 overs (Hardik Pandya 30 not out; Tim Southee 2/27).
Result: Match tied by D/L method.
