India completed a 3-0 series win with a record 73-run win over New Zealand at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, thereby stating the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid stint on a high. India put up 184/7, and bowled out New Zealand for 111.
New Zealand rested Tim Southee for Lockie Ferguson. Mitchell Santner led them instead. Rohit won his third toss in a row, and opted to bat. India rested K.L. Rahul and R. Ashwin, and brought in Ishan Kishan and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Rohit and Kishan started aggressively. India hit at least one boundary in every over of the Powerplay, including a 20-run sixth over, bowled by Ferguson, which took the partnership to 69. Santner put on the brakes, dismissing Kishan (29) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) in his first over. He got Rishabh Pant (4) in his second, and had figures of 3-0-7-2 at one point.
Meanwhile, Rohit continued aggressively to become the first man to record 30 T20I fifties. He fell for 56 when Ish Sodhi caught him brilliantly off his own bowling. The Iyers, Shreyas (25 in 20 balls) and Venkatesh (20 in 15), added 36 in quick time before both perished in pursuit of big shots. India were 140/6 with nearly 23 balls left.
They late blast came from Harshal Patel (18 in 11 balls) and Deepak Chahar (21* in 8). They took India to 184/7. Santner finished with 3-27, while all his teammates got a wicket apiece.
New Zealand then raced to 21 in the two overs. Chahar’s first over went for 16, including him dropping a catch. Rohit brought Axar Patel, who started by dismissing Daryl Mitchell (5), Mark Chapman (0), and Glenn Phillips (0) in no time. He finished with 3-7 to be named Player of the match. New Zealand, 30/3, could never recover despite Guptill's 51.
Guptill and Tim Seifert added 39, but once Guptill fell, New Zealand lost four wickets in four overs, including two run outs, both involving Kishan. At 84/7, the match was almost over before Ferguson slogged away to take them to 111. Harshal took two wickets to round off an impressive debut series, while Venkatesh, too, got his maiden wicket.
Rohit was named Player of the Series.
Brief scores: India 184/7 (Rohit Sharma 56; Mitchell Santner 3-27) beat New Zealand 111 (Martin Guptill 51; Axar Patel 3-9) by 73 runs. Player of the Match: Axar Patel.
India won the series 3-0. Player of the Series: Rohit Sharma.