They survived a hammering from Dube, who struck India's third-fastest half-century in T20Is
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Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: S Sudarshanan
10:30pm A convincing win for New Zealand could give them confidence so close to the T20 World Cup. This is a near-perfect game for them. Their batters were able to tee off and post a tall total. Their bowlers then nipped the challenge quite early. All this despite losing the toss and being asked to bat first. The only little concern for them tonight came in the middle-overs phase - both with bat and ball. There was a phase in their innings when they lost 65 for 6 after a 100-run opening stand, and then Dube's onslaught left them searching with the ball. That aside, it's as clinical a performance as it can get. Sadly for them, it has come a little too late in this T20I series.
Matt Henry: "Coming here and playing a good side, to bounce back shows a lot about the character of this group. The confidence is a big part of this. We had the belief we were not too far. A couple of good knock challenged them. Good to have a complete performance tonight. [Abhishek's wicket] Huge wicket for us. He's shown how dangerous a player he is. Seriously good catch from Devon [Conway]. Key is assessing conditions. Played on three very good surfaces, small ground. It's about keep fighting. As long as you can take wickets, that's what can stem the flow of runs."
Suryakumar Yadav, India captain: "We purposely played six batters. Wanted to have five bowlers and challenge ourselves. We wanted to play the players who were part of the World Cup squad, otherwise would have played other players. We have been batting well batting first. Wanted us to see how we bat when two or three down while chasing 180-200. With heavy dew, one or two partnerships like Dube batted, one partnership could have made a difference."
Mitchell Santner, New Zealand captain: "The way we started in the powerplay was what India were doing to us. Especially after the last game, you don't want guys to go into a shell. They set us up for a decent score. Finished up by Daryl, who took us to a good total. We are thinking about what we are likely to get at the World Cup. We have a couple of guys back for the last game, which is nice. Wickets at the start is crucial, makes our job as spinners easier."
Tim Seifert, Player of the Match: "Sometimes you get a bit lucky early on. The intent we wanted to put on the bowlers early, you get top edges sometimes. [Bumrah] He got me with a beauty last game. Looked to play straight, once you get the first ball with him, things get easier. The intent and putting pressure was what we wanted to do. No matter where we way, every wicket's going to be different. Being able to adapt and being yourself... If the pitches are anything like this series, the T20 World Cup will be high-scoring."
Right that is all we have for you from Vizag. Do join us for the fifth T20I in three days time. Meanwhile, there are also two days of WPL cricket. Do tune in with your comments and views. Till the next time, take care, stay hydrated! Ciao!
Kuldeep Yadav c †Seifert b Duffy 1 (4m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33
Duffy
Kuldeep Yadav is the last man in
JJ Bumrah c Sodhi b Santner 4 (4m 2b 1x4 0x6) SR: 200
Kiwi Khan: "Someone said 40 off the two spin overs! Well! 16 runs and 2 wickets!"
Sanju Samson was India's first-choice keeper-batter in T20Is before the series against New Zealand, but a series of failures - and Ishan Kishan's success - might have pegged him back
Arshdeep replaced him; New Zealand also made one change, bringing in Zak Foulkes for Kyle Jamieson
They survived a hammering from Dube, who struck India's third-fastest half-century in T20Is
With Tilak Varma missing the rest of the series, this tussle is set to continue through the last two T20Is
