India score 179/5 in 3rd T20I against NZ, Rohit scores 65

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Patna : India scored a competitive 179/5 in 20 overs in the 3rd T20I against New Zealand (NZ) at Sedddon Park, Hamilton, NZ, on January 29, 2020, with opener Rohit Sharma scoring 65 in 40 balls hitting 6 fours and 3 sixes and captain Virat Kohli scoring 38 in 27 balls with 2 fours and a six. NZ won the toss but opted to bowl.

Opener Rohit Sharma and Lokesh Rahul added 89 runs in 54 balls for the first wicket. Rahul fell to all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme for 27 in 19 balls with 2 fours and a six and it was 89/1. Rohit Sharma fell to fast medium bowler Hamish Bennett for 65 making it 94/2 in 64 balls. Rohit, the Hit-Man, hit Hamish Bennett for 3 sixes and 2 fours on successive balls in his second overs. He reached his fifty in just 23 balls. Rohit had failed to score big in first two T20I against NZ.

All-rounder Shivam Dubey also fell to Bennett for 3 making it 96/3. Kohli and Shreyas Iyer added 46 runs for the 4th wicket. Iyer fell to spinner Mitchell Santner for 17 in 16 balls hitting a six and it was 142/4. Kohli fell to Bennett for 38 and it was 160/5. Manish Pandey remained unbeaten on 14 in 6 balls with a six and a four while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja remained 10 not out in 5 balls hitting a six. For NZ, Hamish Be nnett, who had leaked 40 runs in his first two overs, took 3/54 in 4 overs. Mitchell Santner and Colin de Grandhomme took one wicket each.

Chasing a target of 180, NZ were 26/0 in 3 overs with Martin Guptil unbeaten on 21 and Colin Munro not out on 5. Guptil hit fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for 2 sixes in his first over.