Dube shines, India fall short as NZ win 4th T20I in Visakhapatnam
Dube shines, India fall short as NZ win 4th T20I in Visakhapatnam
Shivam Dube's 65 lights up a valiant chase, but India fall 50 runs short as New Zealand claim the 4th T20I in Visakhapatnam.
India opted to bowl first in the fourth T20I in Visakhapatnam, bringing in Arshdeep Singh as Ishan Kishan sat out with a niggle and Zak Foulkes replaced Kyle Jamieson for New Zealand. The move paid off for NZ early, but Shivam Dube stole the show with an audacious 65 off 23 balls, hitting seven sixes and three fours, and he rode a key 63-run sixth-wicket stand with Harshit Rana, who contributed nine. Dube was almost dismissed on 46 when a leg-before decision was overturned by DRS, keeping India's hopes alive for a moment longer.
India’s chase hit an early snag as Abhishek Sharma perished for a first-ball duck, and Suryakumar Yadav was superbly dismissed by a return catch from Jacob Duffy as India slipped to 9 for 2. Rinku Singh offered a defiant 39, and Sanju Samson added 24 with a stylish flicked six off Duffy, but Hardik Pandya’s quiet spell left the asking rate climbing and India folded for 165.
New Zealand posted 216 after a measured innings, then bowled with discipline to defend the total. The result left NZ up 3-1 in the five-match series. Amid the setback, Suryakumar Yadav jumped five spots to seventh in the ICC T20I rankings, a positive note on an otherwise challenging night for India.
