It was turning out to be the perfect tour of the southern hemisphere for India but Sunday brought their first series defeat as New Zealand won the T20 decider by four runs.
The narrow win at Hamilton helped the hosts clinch the three-match T20 series by 2-1 with India tasting only their first series defeat in the combined tours of Australia and New Zealand.
At the end of a hard-fought T20 series, we rate how India’s players fared across the three clashes.
Rohit Sharma – 6
Not the best of series for the stand-in India skipper, who has been in some terrific form of late. His 50 in the second T20 helped India level matters but the two other knocks were below-par.
Shikhar Dhawan – 5
Like Rohit, Dhawan has been exceptional for India in limited-overs cricket but he failed to bring his best in the series before falling cheaply in the decider.
Vijay Shankar – 7
Questions were raised over Shankar’s spot in the team but he answered them with a couple of exciting knocks with the bat to show that he has a future.
Rishabh Pant – 7
The youngster was dismissed cheaply in the series opener but he showed his class with an unbeaten 40 to help India cross the finish line in the second T20. Played an excellent cameo in the decider.
Pant played a couple of blinders with the bat.
MS Dhoni – 6
The veteran did his best as others around him struggled in the opening T20 but he failed to stand up when it really mattered in the decider. His glovework behind the stumps remains top-notch as ever though.
Dinesh Karthik – 6
Karthik was one of the many Indian batsmen to fail in the series opener but he almost dug out an improbable victory for India with a 16-ball 33 in the decider.
Hardik Pandya – 6
The all-rounder’s return to international cricket was a welcome one for India and he brings terrific balance to the side. Didn’t get many opportunities with the bat but was very expensive with the ball at times despite chipping in with wickets.
Krunal Pandya – 7
One of the biggest positives for India’s series loss was the emergence of Krunal Pandya who showed he can be an excellent all-round option in the limited-overs formats. Was very expensive with the ball in the decider but played a blinder with the bat.
Krunal has given India another all-round option.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 6
The senior India pacer started the series off on a poor note by conceding 47 runs in the opener but grew better as the matches progressed although he failed to hit his usual heights.
Yuzvendra Chahal – 6
The leg-spinner was decent without being outstanding in his two appearances before he was replaced by Kuldeep Yadav in the deciding T20.
Khaleel Ahmed – 4
The young left-arm pacer was a huge disappointment in the series despite his composed performance in the second T20. Was taken for plenty of runs in the first and third T20s and his place in the limited-overs setup could be under threat after those performances.
Kuldeep Yadav – 8
The prolific wrist-spinner was bafflingly kept away from the playing XI at Wellington and Auckland. He was brought in for the decider and immediately showed his class with figures of 2-26 while the rest of India’s bowlers were carted all around the park.
