As India defeated New Zealand last night at the Narendra Modi Cricket stadium to clinch the Mastercard T20I series, the Men in Blue registered one of their largest victories in the shortest form. The Kiwis were slammed by 168 runs and suffered humiliation in front of Lakhs of Indian fans.
The hosts had set up a total of 234 by losing just 4 wickets. Shubhman Gill’s exceptional Century (126 off 63) followed by Rahul Tripathi’s 44 off 22, Surya Kumar Yadav’s 24 off 13 and Hardik Pandya’s 30 off 17 helped the Men in Blues set up a mammoth total.
Into the night sky & out of the park 🔥🔥@ShubmanGill is dealing in sixes 💥#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/OuMivnJXRw
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 1, 2023
The fortunes did not change for New Zealand in the 2nd Innings either. The Kiwis were restricted to just 66 runs with 8 overs to spare. While Shubhman Gill was adjudged the Man of the match, Hardik Pandya received the Man of the series award thanks to his dependable All-round performance.
.@ShubmanGill scored a remarkable 126* off just 63 deliveries and bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia registered a 168-run victory in the #INDvNZ T20I series decider 👏🏻👏🏻
Scorecard – https://t.co/1uCKYafzzD… #INDvNZ @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/OhPzHbgxsK
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 1, 2023
For his overall show across the three games, Captain @hardikpandya7 bags the Player of the Series award.#INDvNZ @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/KGQ9vzjkWa
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 1, 2023
Once the post match presentations came to an end, Pandya and Gill were involved in a chit chat courtesy of BCCI TV. The Indian cricket board shared the video on Twitter and its a must watch. 2 of the most brightest prospects of Indian cricket who can possibly bring a trophy back home had a lot of appreciation for each other.
Of record-breaking knock & leading from the front to the importance of hard work 🔝 🙌
𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒: Captain @hardikpandya7 & @ShubmanGill chat after #TeamIndia's record win in Ahmedabad 👌 👌 – By @ameyatilak
Full interview 🎥 🔽 #INDvNZhttps://t.co/9KMRvwMgsX pic.twitter.com/Povf3rLzXq
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 2, 2023
Both of them have a good relationship and their bond would have got even more tight following a successful IPL 2022 where Gill and Pandya both played for Gujarat Titans. While Pandya heaped praise on Gill’s style of play and his approach, the latter thanked his skipper and the management for continuously backing him.
“I didn’t do well up to my expectations in T20s. So I was eager to do well. You gave me the confidence before the match. Before I went to the game, you told me match se pehle ki jaise main khelta hu vaise hi khelo. Vo chhoti chhoti cheez help karti hai when I know I don’t have to do anything extra, or anything that’s not me. that helped today. The way I practice, the way my dad made me practice, I think 90 percent credit goes to him.”
