2nd T20 International: New Zealand aim to break India’s momentum

New Zealand beat India in the first ODI in Mumbai but then couldn’t stop Virat Kohli and Co. from winning the next two and the series. Such has been India’s domination at home in the last couple of years.

“In the first ODI, they did well, playing the sweep shot a lot,” Axar Patel said on the eve of the second T20I. “We got a bit of an idea that their plan is to sweep against spinners. So in the next game, our strategy was to use the angle – over the wicket, round the wicket and then to confuse them, pitch one ball fuller and other a bit shorter. So accordingly, we had planned.”

Now, New Zealand are already one down in the threematch Twenty20 international series and a loss in Rajkot today will seal the series in India’s favour. Can the Kiwis stop Indian juggernaut and at least take the series to the decider in Thiruvananthapuram on November 7?

The comprehensive 53-run victory in the series opener at Delhi was India’s first-ever over the Kiwis in the shortest form of the game. And the way Men in Blue outplayed the Black Caps in every department, it’s going to be a Herculean task for the Kane Williamson-led side to prevent India from surging to a series victory.

“We put up a fantastic performance in Mumbai and played pretty well for that win. The second game is the only one we kind of struggled with.

But the third ODI was a fantastic game and I think we chased extremely well. We showed that we can play spin a lot better than sides that have come here in the past,” said Ish Sodhi at the pre-match media conference.

The Indian top order batting, with superb strokemakers in Dhawan, Sharma and Kohli, has to be tamed early if New Zealand hope to carry on the fight till the series-ending game.

Dhawan and Sharma put on a record 158-run partnership that went into the 16th over to ensure that India ended up with a plus-200 total despite a brief wobble towards the end. “T20 cricket is all about momentum and I think they (India) put on a good partnership at the start that set up the momentum for the rest of the game. That’s just about recognising those key moments and how we can slow their momentum down,” he said.