Ahmedabad: Shubman Gill's record-breaking hundred followed by a clinical performance on the field saw the Men in Blue register their biggest-ever win in T20I in terms of runs as they defeated New Zealand by 168 runs in the third and final T20I against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
While India opted to bat first and posted 234/4 with the help of Shubman's highest-ever score by an Indian in T20Is- an unbeaten 126* off 63- they later bowed out the Kiwis for 66, registering yet another win in a series decider. The Men in Blue and clinched the series 2-1 after losing the first of the three T20Is in Ranchi.
It was a near perfect outing for the Hardik Pandya-led side with the bat barring Ishan Kishan who did not have a series to remember. The left-handed had scores of 4 and 19 alongside his name in the first two matches of the series and he could not add a score of substance in the decider either as he went back after scoring just 1.
However, after that India's innings went as per the ideal script. One batter in Gill batted through the innings while others around him scored brisk cameos. The first and perhaps the one that set the foundation for a big India total was Rahul Tripathi's 44 off 22. His innings ensured India were up and running in the initial overs despite losing a wicket.
Shubman was a bit circumspect initially by T20 standards and it helped that Tripathi took the onus on himself to attack the opposition from the word go. After Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya also scored at a brisk pace recording scores of 24 off 13 and 30 off 17 respectively.
It was fitting that during the latter half of Gill's masterclass, he was at his fluent best. Realising that India had the license to go for the big shots with wickets in hand and having set themselves a solid foundation, the 23-year-old went for the big shots and more often than not succeeded in what he set out to do.
For New Zealand, Michael Bracewell, Blair Tickner, Ish Sodhi and Daryl Mitchell picked a wicket each but while Bracewell and Mitchell were part-time options and were given only an over each, others were too expensive on the day.
Needing a daunting 235 to win in 20 overs, the Blackcaps lost the plot in the powerplay itself. They lost 4 wickets in the first 3 overs and 5 inside the powerplay. From there, it was always going to be difficult for them to comeback and Indian fielders did not make it easy either by taking all their chances.
Daryl Mitchell was the top-scorer for the visitors as he made 35 off 25. Captain Santner was the only other Kiwi batter to have a double-digit score in a chase where they needed close to 2 runs per ball from the outset. Indian skipper Hardik finished with figures of 4/16 while Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik and Shivam Mavi returned with 2 wickets apiece as India sealed the match to bag the series.