India vs New Zealand: Martin Guptill hit three boundaries and two sixes in his knock of 31 off 15 deliveries at Ranchi in the second T20I against India.
Virat Kohli’s absence from the ongoing T20I series between India and New Zealand gave a perfect opportunity to Blackcaps opener Martin Guptill to catch up with the former Indian T20I captain in the list of highest run-getters in T20Is. Guptill’s knock of 70 in the first match in Jaipur meant he needed to score 11 runs in Ranchi to overtake Kohli and he did that in the very first over of the match itself. Guptill hit back-to-back boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and then got a reprieve as KL Rahul dropped his catch to equal Kohli’s mark. He then hit the Indian medium pacer for another boundary to become the highest run-getter in T20Is.
Guptill was on fire in the powerplay as dispatched Bhuvneshwar and Deepak Chahar to all parts of the park, hitting three boundaries and two sixes in his knock of 31 off 15 deliveries. He was eventually sent back by Chahar and that put the breaks on the New Zealand innings as they eventually managed to score 153/6.
The 35-year-old has been one of the leading lights for New Zealand in limited overs cricket, often getting the team off to flying starts over the years.
Indian T20I captain Rohit Sharma is third on the list and not too far off the duo of Guptill and Kohli. Rohit had become the third batsman to score 3000 runs in T20Is during the ICC T20 World Cup earlier this month.
India managed to chase down the 154-run target in 17.2 overs, reaching 155 for three in 17.2 overs. Openers Rahul and Rohit smashed 65 and 55 runs respectively, helping India seal a win in the series.