6,6,6,4,4,4…: Rinku Singh dominates New Zealand bowlers, punishes Mitchell, scores 44 runs in only…

India scored a huge 238/7 in 20 overs in the first T20I of the five-match series in Nagpur. Rinku Singh’s late hitting boosted India in the final overs of the innings. He also remained not out on 44 from 20 balls.

How did Rinku Singh bat?

Rinku Singh was tasked with finishing the innings, and he delivered perfectly. He scored an unbeaten 44 runs from 20 balls, hitting 4 fours and 3 sixes. Star India batter punished Daryl Mitchell by smashing 20 runs in the final over.

How was Team India’s batting?

Abhishek Sharma was outstanding in India vs New Zealand’s first T20I on January 21. He started aggressively and scored 85 runs, helping India reach 238/7 in 20 overs. He faced 45 balls and hit 8 sixes and 5 fours. The world’s top T20I batter added 99 runs with captain Suryakumar Yadav for the third wicket, while Yadav scored 32 off 22 balls, including 4 fours and 1 six.

Openers Sanju Samson (10) and Ishan Kishan (8), making his return, couldn’t make big scores. All-rounder Hardik Pandya played a powerful innings of 25 runs from 16 balls, with 3 fours and 1 six. Another all-rounder, Shivam Dube, scored only 9 runs from 4 balls.

What happened in the match?

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and asked India to bat first. Jacob Duffy was the most effective bowler for New Zealand, taking 2 wickets while giving away only 27 runs in his four overs.

Kyle Jamieson also took 2 wickets but was expensive, conceding 54 runs in his four overs. A poor decision by Santner in the last over allowed India to score freely. Instead of bowling himself, Santner handed the ball to Daryl Mitchell, who gave away 21 runs. Kristian Clarke, Ish Sodhi and Santner each took 1 wicket.