India secured a 2-1 series victory over New Zealand in the third and final T20I match, held at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday. Shubman Gill's outstanding maiden T20I century of 126 not out off 63 was the highlight of India's batting performance, along with contributions from Rahul Tripathi, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav.
After India won the toss and chose to bat first, they lost Ishan Kishan in the second over to a delivery from Michael Bracewell. However, Gill and Tripathi stepped up to give India momentum, hitting multiple boundaries. Tripathi continued his aggressive approach against the Kiwi spinners, but his entertaining knock came to an end when he was caught at fine leg. Suryakumar Yadav made a quick contribution before being caught, while Gill and Pandya put up a half-century stand. Gill's innings was characterized by his ability to send the ball over the boundary line, and he eventually became the youngest Indian player to score a T20I century and the fifth Indian batter to score centuries in all three formats.
Chasing India's mammoth total, New Zealand had a disastrous start as Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya tore through their top order, aided by Suryakumar Yadav's reflex catches. The likes of Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, and Glenn Phillips had no answers and were out cheaply, leaving New Zealand in deep trouble at 7/4. Umran Malik and Shivam Mavi joined the bowling effort, with Pandya being the most successful with figures of 4/16. In the end, New Zealand were bowled out for just 66 runs in 12.1 overs.
Gill's sensational century, along with the bowlers' dominant performance, secured India's 168-run win and their 2-1 series victory over New Zealand.
Brief scores: India 234/4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 126 not out, Rahul Tripathi 44, Hardik Pandya 30; Daryl Mitchell 1-6) beat New Zealand 66 all-out in 12.1 overs (Daryl Mitchell 35; Umran Malik 2-9, Shivam Mavi 2-12, Arshdeep Singh 2-16) by 168 runs.