India faced New Zealand in the last T20I of their three-game series on Wednesday, 1st February. Hardik Pandya, who won the toss, chose to bat first on what appeared to be a difficult pitch.
On the other hand, New Zealand managed to keep India at bay for a few overs and made the first breakthrough by dismissing Ishan Kishan. Michael Bracewell caught him LBW, opening the scoring. After Kishan’s exit, Rahul Tripathi came to the crease.
As per his typical style, Tripathi immediately started playing aggressively. He received a couple of lucky escapes when his lofted shots fell in unoccupied territory. But with Shubman Gill dominating the center, Tripathi soon found his rhythm and hit some eye-catching shots. One of his strokes was so impressive that it left the commentators marveling at his spectacular display.
Tripathi executed a paddle scoop to hit a six off New Zealand’s quickest bowler, Lockie Ferguson. In the third delivery of the sixth over, he effortlessly sent a full delivery from Ferguson over the fine leg fence.
Tripathi continued to torment the New Zealand bowlers, scoring 44 off just 21 balls. However, as he attempted to reach his first half-century in style, he was caught at fine leg.
