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The final T20I between India and New Zealand in Kolkata kicked off with skipper Rohit Sharma winning yet another toss. The captain opted to bat first and then led the team from the front. He not only held one end tight to see India target a big score but also scored at a brisk rate to make sure the run rate of the Indian team remained undented by the time he was present at the crease.
During the course of his knock at his favourite ground Eden Gardens, Rohit extended his tally of half-centuries in the format to 26. He had made his intentions quite clear in the first over itself after taking on Trent Boult for two back-to-back boundaries after getting the first ball of the innings hit on his pad. The carnage that came following it was even better as a ruthless Rohit Sharma tonked the New Zealand bowlers to every nook and cranny, and help India muster 69 runs in the powerplay. Ishan Kishan too helped Rohit with his 29 off 21, but with the 'Hitman' in such a devastating form, the southpaw could do nothing but play the second fiddle.
Rohit's innings meets an unlucky end
The opener raced to his fifty off just 27 balls. However, amidst all this, India lost the crucial wickets of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant in quick succession. This all started taking a toll on India's run rate and to speed up things, Rohit decided to take on Ish Sodhi. Sensing that Rohit was coming down the track to hoick him over the boundary line, Sodhi bowled the ball well outside Rohit's reach on the offside. The latter, meanwhile, hit the ball with brute force but could only connect it from the lower part of his bat. The ball ricocheted straight towards the main umpire, however, Sodhi took no time to give his right hand in the line and held on to the catch beautifully.
