India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I Live Updates: Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 89 takes New Zealand to 198/3

Daryl Mitchell and Bevon Jacobs remain unbeaten on 88 and 39 as New Zealand finish with 198/3 in the allotted twenty overs. A solid total on the board, looking at how the hosts lost Tim Seifert in the 2nd over.

The experiment to give the 19th over to Nitish Kumar Reddy doesn’t pay off! He gives away 15 runs and New Zealand are now closing in on the 200-run mark.

New Zealand 189/3 in 19 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar brings all his experience into play and doesn’t try to do much. Simple straight strategy. Keep the ball at the stumps. Mitchell and Jacobs take just nine runs off his over.

New Zealand 174/3 in 18 overs.

Arshdeep is nailing his yorkers for now, and both Mitchell and Jacobs are finding it difficult to hit him for boundaries. However, as we write this, Arshdeep has decided to go short, and a mistimed shot fetches Bevon Jacobs a six. The ball evades the long-off fielder, and New Zealand get six more runs added to the total.

New Zealand 164/3 in 16.5 overs.

Prince Yadav is into the attack and will bowl his third over of the game. Just five overs remaining, and India would look to contain the damage in the final stretch of the innings. Mitchell and Jacobs are seeing the ball well, hence it would be quite a task.

New Zealand 149/3 in 15.2 overs.

Axar Patel rounds off his spell nicely, giving away just seven runs in the 14th over. Daryl Mitchell and Bevon Jacobs were more than happy to play him out. Axar finishes with figures of 1/36 from four overs.

New Zealand 142/3 in 14 overs.

Bevon Jacobs is quick off the blocks! Two back-to-back boundaries and he is up and running in Wellington. 12 runs off the Bhuvneshwar Kumar and New Zealand are maintaining the run rate of 10.

New Zealand 135/3 in 13 overs.

Axar Patel strikes! The in-form batter Glenn Phillips returns to the hut. Not a good outing for Phillips in his 100th T20I as he slams the ball straight to Axar. He walks back after scoring 17 off 14 balls.

New Zealand 123/3 in 12 overs.

Nitish Kumar Reddy goes for the yorker and slightly misses his mark. Daryl Mitchell hits the ball straight as an arrow, and it evades the fielder, who was running in from long on. The next delivery then goes for a six and Reddy’s bowling figures are spoiled by the last two deliveries. 50 comes up for Mitchell

New Zealand 113/2 in 11 overs.

We have reached the halfway mark, and it’s time for the drinks break. New Zealand are 100/2 with Mitchell and Glenn Phillips in the middle. India need to rethink their plans on how to about their bowling plans on a venue where the square boundaries are quite short.

Nitish Reddy shows how it’s done. He makes Finn Allen hit towards the longer boundary and is rewarded for showing the smarts. The dangerous batter walks back after scoring 40 off 25 deliveries.

New Zealand 90/2 in 8.3 overs.

This has gone a long way back in the stands. Prince Yadav digs one short, and Daryl Mitchell was up to the task. It’s raining sixes in Wellington. Eight sixes already between Allen and Mitchell. New Zealand are now flying. Mitchell moves to 38 off 18 balls.

New Zealand 86/1 in 7.4 overs.

Another dragged down delivery and Finn Allen just uses his brute force to send the ball sailing for a six over cover. 14 runs off the seventh over.

New Zealand 72/1 in 7 overs.

India are just not learning. Axar Patel now drops it short and Allen just rocks back and deposits the ball went into the stands. Another maximum. This is poor bowling.

New Zealand 66/1 in 6.3 overs.

Two boundaries to round off the powerplay. The fifth delivery of the sixth over is hit down the ground and the ball has enough to touch the ropes for a four. The next delivery, Arshdeep strays down leg and it evades a diving Sanju Samson for four leg byes.

NZ score 58/1 from the powerplay despite being 6/1 after 2 overs. Shows how quickly they can turn around. Also underlines the significance of Mitchell as one of the anchors and enforcers for New Zealand.

Arshdeep Singh is not bowling to the field. He goes short once again, and Daryl Mitchell makes full use of the short boundary square. The ball goes over the ropes for a six, and 50 comes up for the Kiwis.

Mitchell nearly takes out the security guy on the perimeter. Replays show the ball missed his head by a whisker. Can’t get closer than this. Mitchell looked almost shocked with relief.

New Zealand 50/1 in 5.1 overs.

That’s a biggie! Finn Allen makes the most of the short square boundary. Seam up, back of a length delivery from Prince Yadav and Allen has no problem in depositing the ball well into the stands.

New Zealand 42/1 in 4.3 overs.

Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell are getting a move on, and the duo take 12 runs of Arshdeep Singh’s second over. Two boundaries and New Zealand are slowly finding their mojo in Wellington.

New Zealand 34/1 in 4 overs.

A six to start the over and a six to end the over. Bhuvneshwar Kumar drops it short, and Allen has no problem in pulling the ball for a maximum. 16 runs off Bhuvi’s second over.

New Zealand 22/1

There it is! The first maximum of the game comes off Bhuvneshwar’s bowling. The back of a length delivery is hit straight down the ground, and the ball has enough to land beyond the ropes.

New Zealand 12/1 in 2.1 overs.

What a brilliant over from Arshdeep, and it ends with a let-off for Finn Allen. He played the ball straight to Axar, and a direct hit would have resulted in curtains for him. But the Kiwi opener somehow survives and lives to fight another day.

New Zealand 6/1 in 2 overs.

India are rewarded for being patient with the ball. The good line and lengths up top have resulted in an early wicket. Arshdeep Singh provides the first wicket for India as Tim Seifert walks back to the dugout after scoring two off six balls.

The ball moved away from Seifert and the batter just looked to slog it away, only to hand a simple catch to Axar Patel.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar starts off well. Shows his class, with both Tim Seifert and Finn Allen all at sea. Just four runs off the opening over. The ball is not coming onto the bat for now. Let’s see how Arshdeep Singh fares.

New Zealand 4/0

Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are the two openers out there in the middle. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the ball in his hand. The crowd is still coming in, and the stadium isn’t fully packed yet.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar starts with a loosener and a wide gets us underway.

It’s time for the national anthems. India’s first and it will be followed by New Zealand’s. Just a matter of few minutes before things get underway in Wellington.