India v New Zealand, T20Is stats review: Rohit Sharma becomes a T20 giant, bowlers suffer nightmare amid sixes galore

India were handed a 2-1 series defeat by New Zealand after the hosts clinched the third and final T20I at Hamilton by four runs. This is was the first bilateral T20I series defeat for India since August 2017. The gap between the two series defeats clearly indicates how well India have been in the shortest format of the game in recent past.

They played nine bilateral T20I series, won seven and drawn two in this period. However, after losing the ODI series, New Zealand bounced back strongly in the T20I series, especially with the bat and their openers alongside Colin de Grandhomme were consistent and outstanding and the score line of 2-1 is a just a reflection of it.

For India, the biggest positives were Vijay Shankar and Rishabh Pant’s performances. However, they must show consistency and finish off matches for India if they want to be part of the group on a consistent basis.

Let’s look at few of the records broken and created in the T20I series.

Tim Seifert, who amassed 139 runs in the series, had scored only 42 runs from seven innings before the series against India in T20Is. He hit six sixes against India in the first T20I played at Wellington, which is the second most for a New Zealand player against India in a T20I match. Seifert eventually won Player of the Series award for his performances with bat.

Three of the top-five highest stands for New Zealand against India were registered in the recently-concluded T20I series.

No Indian bowler has conceded more runs than Krunal Pandya against New Zealand in a T20I. Moreover, he is only the second left-arm spinner to conceded 50-plus runs on two different occasions in T20Is after Danny Briggs. Krunal conceded 55 runs against Australia at Brisbane in 2018.

New Zealand registered their highest total against India in a T20I in the first match at Wellington while their second highest total against them came in the third T20I and it was also the highest total posted Hamilton in T20Is.

Most number of T20I defeats for India have come against New Zealand.

India lost the first T20I played at Wellington by 80 runs which was their biggest-ever defeat in-terms of runs in T20Is.

India have now won 12 matches under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, which is the joint second most number of matches that they have won under any captain in T20Is alongside Virat Kohli.

No player has now scored more runs and hit more fifty-plus scores than Rohit in T20Is.

Rohit is at the first place in the list of Indian players for hitting most sixes in international cricket.

Only Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill have hit more sixes than Rohit in T20Is now.

Hardik Pandya conceded 131 runs in this series, which is now the most by an Indian bowler in a bilateral T20I series.

There were 56 sixes hit in this series, which is the most in a bilateral T20I series, eclipsing 55 sixes hit in a bilateral series between Afghanistan and Ireland in 2016/17.