Cricket
The final T20I clash between these two sides will take place at the Bay Oval in Tauranga on February 2.
Updated : Jan 31, 2020, 06:10 PM IST | Edited by : Snehadri Sarkar
Team India defeated New Zealand after yet another nail baiting super over in the fourth T20I match at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Friday (January 31).
With this victory, India has gained a 4-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
In the Super Over, the Kiwis came out and hoisted a target score of 14 rubs for India batting first.
On the chase, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli boosted the Men In Blue to the score in just five deliveries. KL gave India the perfect start by scoring 10 runs off the first two balls before losing his wicket. Kohli, in the end, guided his side to victory with a thumping boundary.
In chase of a target score of 166, New Zealand lost their opener Martin Guptill (4) early on with just 22 runs on the board as Jasprit Bumrah struck early for the visitors.
Colin Munro after that formed a formidable 74-run partnership with wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert for the second wicket.
However, Virat Kohli provided India with the much-needed breakthrough with a brilliant run-out to dismiss Munro (64) in the 12th over.
Yuzvendra Chahal struck immediately after that and sent Tom Bruce back to the dressing room for a duck, reducing Kiwis to 97/3.
However, Seifert and Ross Taylor kept the scoreboard ticking with big shots at regular intervals and took the BlackCaps to a comfortable position.
The Kiwi duo knitted together a 62-run stand before Shardul Thakur dismissed Taylor for 24 runs.
The final over was full of entertainment as KL Rahul dismissed Seifert (57) via ran out, with New Zealand needing three runs from the final three balls to win the match.
Thakur also bagged the wicket of Daryl Mitchell (4) next and Kiwis required two runs off the final delivery of the match.
Just like the 3rd T20I in Hamilton, this match also went into the super over as India managed to run-out Mitchell Santner (2) and the match was level on 165.
Earlier, Manish Pandey's unbeaten knock of 50 runs helped India register a score of 165/8 in the allotted twenty overs.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand had won the toss and opted to bowl first.
India lost Sanju Samson early on, with Virat Kohli (11) and Shreyas Iyer (1) also losing throwing away their wickets cheaply.
Rahul and Shivam Dube then formed a 23-run stand for the fourth wicket but Ish Sodhi soon broke the partnership and sent KL back to the dressing room for 39 runs.
Soon after, the visitors lost Shivam Dube (12) and Washington Sundar (0) back-to-back, leaving the side reeling at 88/6.
However, it was the late heroics from Manish Pandey and Shardul Thakur that provided India with some much-needed boost.
The duo added 43 runs for the seventh wicket before Thakur (20) was dismissed in the 17th over.
In the end, Pandey stayed unbeaten on 50 runs with Navdeep Saini (11*) and took the score past the 160-run mark.
The final T20I clash between these two sides will take place at the Bay Oval in Tauranga on February 2.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 165/6 (Colin Munro 64, Tim Seifert 57, Shardul Thakur 2-33) and India 165/8 (Manish Pandey 50*, KL Rahul 39, Ish Sodhi 3-26).
Super Over Score: India 16/1 defeat New Zealand 13/1.