NEW DELHI: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar analysed spinner Varun Chakaravarthy’s performance and praised the team’s all-round performance in the first T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand as the Men in Blue clinched a thumping win in Nagpur and kicked off the final preparations ahead of the Men's T20 World Cup.
Batting first, India posted 238/7 on the board in 20 overs courtesy of opener Abhishek Sharma’s fiery 84(35) and quick contributions from skipper Suryakumar Yadav, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh. While the hosts got early wickets of New Zealand’s top-order batters Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra in the powerplay, Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman rescued the visitors during their chase.
However, the Indian bowling unit’s collective efforts and wicket-taking skills at crucial junctures in the game helped the reigning T20 World Cup champions to clinch a 48-run victory at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday.