IND vs NZ

On what Hardik Pandya called a shocker, no batsman hit a six all game, spinners bowled 30 overs, and India panted to reach a target of 100.

While the need of the hour was to take the innings deep by rotating the strike and shelving the big shots, the scoreboard pressure induced undue risks, which meant they ended up with 99, at least 20-25 short of a par-total. With Kuldeep Yadav and [Washington Sundar](https://indianexpress.com/about/washington-sundar/) also around, it proved to be the biggest difference in the end as India’s spinners out-bowled their counterparts, who generously bowled a few full-tosses. But somehow they huffed and puffed to the target. With Washington, Chahal and Kuldeep bowling in the first-half of the innings, New Zealand struggled. Unlike Tests and the ODIs where the characteristics of the pitches tend to vary from country to country, the unaccepted universal code for T20s is to roll out a flat deck. [Rohit Sharma](https://indianexpress.com/about/rohit-sharma/), [KL Rahul](https://indianexpress.com/about/kl-rahul/) and [Virat Kohli](https://indianexpress.com/about/virat-kohli/) in their top three rather than Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tripathi. At the toss Pandya said he did not know what to expect, but benching Umran Malik for Not without a reason, as not a single six was hit in the match. Instead they got a pitch which captain Hardik Pandya described as a shocker. Anyone who could bowl spin was in with a chance of taking a wicket. But it is what the format dictates. But unlike Ranchi, where competent batsmen of spin could find runs, Lucknow was a furnace for batsmen.