Seifert Blitz Blows Away India In Opener

New Zealand hands the Men in Blue their worst ever T20I defeat in terms of runs

A below­par India slumped to its worst ever defeat in T20Is as New Zealand outclassed the visitors in all departments to win the first match of the series by a comprehensive 80­run margin here Wednesday.

Batting first, unheralded wicketkeeper­batsman Tim Seifert took the Indian bowling apart, blasting 84 off 43 balls, as New Zealand posted a commanding 219 for six.

With the opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma (1) and Shikhar Dhawan (29) departing within the PowerPlay overs, the chase became a difficult one and India was all out for 139 in 19.2 overs.

M.S. Dhoni (39, 31b) did play his part but it was always an improbable chase with wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end. India had never lost a T20I by 50 or more runs prior to this match. India’s previous worst was a 49­run loss to Australia back in 2010.

The New Zealand bowlers, especially the two spinners — left­armer Mitchell Santner (two for 24) and leggie Ish Sodhi (two for 26) — kept the pressure on the Indian batsmen.

Tim Southee (three for 17) had the best figures among the bowlers and the best delivery of the match was bowled by Lockie Ferguson, who yorked Dhawan.

On a leash

The Kiwi bowlers kept the batsmen under check and for someone like World Cup aspirant Rishabh Pant (4, 10b), it was a frustrating stay in the middle as he simply couldn’t get going.