How Did India Manage To Defend Against New Zealand In 3rd T20I?

India clinched the three-match T20I series against New Zealand on Sunday by clean sweeping the visitors 3-0. The Final match was played in Kolkata's Eden Gardens. 

Indian captain Rohit Sharma opted to bat first and said "Pitch looks sticky" but wanted to challenge bowlers against possible dew that will come in the 2nd innings. 

India Playing XI: Ishan, Rohit, Surya, Shreyas, Rishabh, Venkatesh, Axar, Deepak, Chahal, Harshal, Bhuvneshwar 

New Zealand Playing XI: Guptill, Mitchell, Chapman, Phillips, Seifert, Neesham, Santner, Milne, Sodhi, Boult, Ferguson

India brought in Ishan Kishan as an opener and a leg spinner - Yuzvendra Chahal - in place of off-spinner R Ashwin. New Zealand brought in a hit-the-deck fast bowler - Lockie Ferguson - in place of swing bowler Tim Southee. 

New Zealand went in with a classic approach, bowling all fast bowlers in the powerplay by giving them two overs each. The new ball came onto the bat nicely and Indian openers - Rohit and Ishan - smashed 69 runs inside the powerplay. 

With the ball coming on nicely and all three bowlers bowling pace, both Rohit and Ishan had no trouble timing the ball. Kiwis attempted just three slow deliveries in the powerplay. 

But the pitch had grip. Mitchell Santner brought himself right after the powerplay and got the breakthrough immediately. He kept bowling in the same area, varied his pace as he has done throughout the series, and ended up picking three wickets in four overs with 10 dot balls. 

Image Source - BCCI TV

Although Sodhi wasn't able to hold the ball in his first over but he too only conceded 31 runs in four overs, picked one wicket. Kiwis bowled spinners throughout the middle overs. In that phase(7-15), India could only score 65 runs and lost four wickets. 

With pacers operating in the last five overs, India once again upped the run rate scoring 50 runs. New Zealand missed Tim Southee's variations in that phase. Although Boult, Ferguson, and Milne tried varying the pace but couldn't keep the ball in tight channels like Southee usually does. 

New Zealand pacers conceded 123 runs in 12 overs and picked three wickets; an economy of 10.25 while spinners bowled with an economy of 7.25, giving away just 58 runs for four wickets in eight overs. 

With spinners being effective and Rohit playing almost 12 overs on that pitch, India figured out the grip the slow bowlers were getting. 

In the 2nd innings, India tried to get swing in the first two overs when they bowled Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar but ended up conceding 21 runs. 

Axar Patel, a slow left-arm spinner, was brought in the third over. He ended up taking two wickets in the first over itself. With the ball gripping, Yuzvendra Chahal was given the fourth over. 

However, Chahal tried getting spin but he didn't. To get spin, Chahal kept pitching the ball on the middle-leg which Martin Guptill attacked. Axar bowled the fifth over and again got a wicket. 

Why Axar was effective and Chahal wasn't in the powerplay? 

A slow left-arm spinner and a leg spinner ideally turn the ball away from right-handers. The idea of bowling an SLA with the new ball is not to get spin but to bowl with an angle towards the batter. Axar is a very accurate bowler who uses the angle very well to attack the stumps. Chahal is a bowler who wants a bit of spin from the wicket to bowl in the powerplay. He didn't get the spin in the first over. 

 

Image Source - BCCI TV

With New Zealand on the backfoot at a score of 37/3 after the powerplay, It was the perfect time to introduce Venkatesh Iyer to international bowling. Iyer doesn't have much pace or variations but can bowl according to the field. 

It was the perfect time to try him since New Zealand was in a rebuilding phase. Iyer ended with the figures of 12 runs in three overs with a wicket to his name. 

India kept using their slower bowlers in the middle overs - Chahal, Iyer, Axar, and slow ball specialist Harshal Patel. All four bowlers kept varying the pace and didn't allow Kiwis to getaway. Whenever a batter tried to take a chance, he got out sooner than later. New Zealand was bowled out for 111 in the 18th over.