T20 1: NZ Teach World Champions India A Lesson Or Two

It was not quite the Slumdog Millionaire win. But it was an unpredictable as it was inexplicable. That a champion team like this would not know what to do in a crisis was expected. But what turned out in the middle was plain bizarre.
One would be forgiven for thinking that a cricket team new to international cricket, and not India, had played the first session of the first Twenty20 match in New Zealand. To be plain carried away by one man’s lusty batting or at the sight of an enticing short boundary seemed the stuff that novices would fall prey to. The last thing one expected was that it would be India. But then they paid a heavy price for it – their pride.
When Virender Sehwag hit Tim Southee for three sixes, Brendon McCullum stated that New Zealand could have been chasing 300 in the Twenty20 game! But so short lived (much like the outfield) were India’s blows that New Zealand were always in control once they had broken through Sehwag.
The need of the hour was putting partnerships together, something India have been able to do very well like the one between Yuvraj Singh and Sehwag during the one day international (ODI) series against Sri Lanka just days before. But it appeared India had forgotten all norms of the game and like a trial session, each man hit a ball with ambition only to find his stint short lived.
India were not going anywhere, especially after they had lost six wickets for just eighty-two runs in under ten overs. Amongst these were some over ambitious shots, misplaced confidence and a brilliant catch on the boundary ropes by Jacob Oram, a feat only seen days earlier with the Australians against New Zealand.
All through Suresh Raina was a silent figure amongst the rubble. And it was his singular innings that gave India the semblance of dignity. 162 was not a bad score, but it was a story of poor effort, misguided assumptions on a pitch and ground that held promise for much more.
New Zealand have not really shown the strength to convert winning positions into victories in recent times, often exasperating captain Daniel Vettori during the Chappell Hadlee series in Australia. This then would be a test against a team that is widely considered the best cricket team in New Zealand.
New Zealand lost Jesse Ryder early, but they should what India should have done, though Brendon McCullum would state that it was not by design. Martin Guptill played his shots, while McCullum bid his time before his bat could respond to the enormous demands. While Guptill was at the crease, the runs began trickling and soon overflowed. His forty-one runs from twenty-eight balls were critical for allowing the next man Ross Taylor to settle a little bit easier into a partnership with a rather subtle McCullum who refused to be drawn into the kind of explosive batting he is known for after his burst for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL last year and more recently, against the Australians.
Once Guptill and Taylor departed, McCullum knew he could no longer rest and wait for the moment to unfold itself. His partner was the tall Oram, who was making a comeback after injury and despite his reputation, would need time to settle in. Together they dodged a few balls, while slamming a few over the boundary ropes. As the runs in the Indian pockets diminished, so did their confidence of defending the total. McCullum and Oram took a few chances, with New Zealand having played the waiting game with wickets in hands, and in the end, made the victory a comfortable one and leaving the Indians feeling rather cold and uneasy.