A WHITEWASH OF THE BLACK CAPS AT EDEN

Rohit, Axar, Chahar Star As India Complete A Crushing 73-Run Victory, Win Series 3-0

- Saibal.Bose

30 Number of fifty-plus innings (4 hundred + 26 fifties) hit by Rohit Sharma to become the first batsman to accomplish the feat in T20Is, outstripping Virat Kohli’s tally of 29 fifties

150 Rohit has become the second batsman after Martin Guptill (161) to hit 150 sixes or more in T20Is.

Kolkata: India skipper Rohit Sharma threw a challenge to his spinners on winning the toss for the third time in the just-concluded T20I series against New Zealand at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday. He decided to bat. It was like daring Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal, who had replaced the in-form Ravichandran Ashwin, to show what they can do with a dew-coated ball.

“Wanted to challenge ourselves in challenging conditions,” the skipper explained his decision. And he set them up nicely with another masterclass, a 56 in just 31 balls in India’s 184 for 7.

Axar responded brilliantly, grabbing three wickets even before the visitors could settle down. His first spell of three wickets for two runs in two overs put India firmly on the path to registering a clean sweep.

They eventually did so, bundling out New Zealand for 111 in 17.2 overs. It surely helped that Axar was brought into the attack in the third over when the ball was relatively dry. Although Chahal was introduced in the very next over, the leg break bowler had to wait a little longer to produce his charm.