From skipper Rohit Sharma to spinner Axar Patel, the contest saw quite a few memorable performances by the Indian stars. One such act came from Deepak Chahar, who played a scintillating cameo in the later stages of Indian innings to power his team to a respectable total.
Chahar, who has shown his batting credentials during India’s recent tour to Sri Lanka, exhibited another splendid batting display and lit up the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The hosts were 165/7 after 19 overs and needed some quick runs to reach a big total on a batting-friendly track in Kolkata. That’s when Chahar took charge and provided the fireworks to help his side reach 184/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Black Caps pacer Adam Milne was given the task to bowl the final over, and he ended up conceding 19 runs. Chahar smashed three boundaries in the over, including a six to give the much-needed momentum to ‘Men in Blue’.
On the fourth ball of the over, when Chahar slammed a big six, it attracted major reactions from the crowd as well as from the players in the Indian camp. Milne bowled a short delivery, and the batter went for a forehand smash to hit a 95 metre six. Chahar’s shot was so good that skipper Rohit was seen clapping and giving a salute to him.
Here is the video:
In the second innings, India bowled brilliantly and packed New Zealand for 111 in 17.2 overs to win the match by 73 runs. Axar picked up three wickets for just nine runs in three overs, while Harshal Patel bagged a couple of scalps for 26 runs in three overs.
Axar was named ‘Man of the Match’, whereas captain Rohit was awarded ‘Player of the Series’. The Mumbaikar scored 159 runs in three games at an average of 53 with two half-centuries.
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