NZ beats India by 4 runs in last T20, wins series 2-1

Colin Munro plundered 72 runs from 40 balls to set New Zealand on course for a four-run win over India in the third Twenty20 cricket international on Sunday and a 2-1 win in the three-match series.

Munro and Tim Seifert, who made 43 from 25 balls, gave New Zealand a lightning start that allowed it to reach 212-4 as it batted first after losing the toss.

India mostly lagged behind the necessary run rate and came to the last over needing 16 runs to win. Tim Southee bowled a tight over and though Dinesh Karthik thrashed the last ball for six, India came up just short at 208-6.

India's Rohit Sharma reacts after dropping a catch during their twenty20 cricket international against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP PhotoDavid Rowland)

Karthik finished 33 not out and Krunal Pandya 26 not out but India lacked the substantial partnerships that might have lifted it to its winning target.

Vijay Shankar, with 43 from 28 balls, and Rishabh Pant with 28 from 12 looked, along with the last pair, as if they might propel India to victory but the India run chase was poorly organized and fell just short.

"It was pretty disappointing not to go through that finishing lane but I thought we fought pretty well," India captain Rohit Sharma said. "I thought 210-odd was always going to be a tough chase but I thought we were in the game right until the end.

New Zealand's Blair Tickner prepares to bowl on his debut during their twenty20 cricket international against India at Seddon Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP PhotoDavid Rowland)

"But I thought New Zealand bowled pretty well at the end. They kept using that yorker which rewarded them."

Munro signaled his and New Zealand's intentions from the outset, hitting the first ball he faced from Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 6. He rushed to 50 from 28 balls with three fours and four sixes and his entire innings contained five fours and five sixes and set the tempo for a strong New Zealand batting performance.

New Zealand was 46-0 after five overs and its first 50 runs came from only 32 balls.

New Zealand's Blair Tickner bowls during their twenty20 cricket international against India at Seddon Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP PhotoDavid Rowland)

Seifert fell at 80-1 to a dubious stumping decision as M.S. Dhoni completed a slick dismissal from the bowling of Kuldeep Yadava. Munro continued to set the rapid tempo of the innings before falling to Yardav when New Zealand was 135-2.

Further contributions of 27 from 21 balls by captain Kane Williamson, 30 from 16 balls from Colin de Grandhomme, 19 from Daryl Mitchell — son of England assistant rugby coach John Mitchell — and 14 from seven balls by Ross Taylor swelled the New Zealand total and proved decisive in a close finish.

India suffered an early setback when it lost the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan to the bowling of left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner in the first over of its reply.

India's Rishabh Pant bats against New Zealand during their twenty20 cricket international at Seddon Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP PhotoDavid Rowland)

Captain Sharma set out to play an anchor role and batted until the 14th over. He was prepared to understudy the big hitters who were likely to see India to a match and series victory but their contributions were too sporadic and too short.

Vijay Shankar blasted 43 from 28 balls with five fours and two sixes and Rishabh Pant began what looked like a match-winning innings with three sixes and a four from his first eight deliveries. But he fell to one of the soft dismissals that undid India's chase for victory.

It stayed in the hunt for a win when it took 14 runs from the penultimate over, bowled by Scott Kuggeleijn. But Southee bowled a tight last over and Karthik, who monopolized the strike at the expense of Krunal Pandya, who had taken 26 runs from 13 balls, wasn't able to clinch a win.

New Zealand's Blair Tickner bowls against India during their twenty20 cricket international at Seddon Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP PhotoDavid Rowland)

"It was a brilliant series and both teams put on a fantastic display of cricket, especially today," Williamson said. "What a brilliant game and great advertisement for T20 cricket.

"Credit to India, they've been outstanding through this whole series but it was nice to get across the line tonight."

India's Dinesh Karthik bats during their twenty20 cricket international against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP PhotoDavid Rowland)

The World Anti-Doping Agency on Tuesday put off a decision about barring government officials from major sporting events if their countries voluntarily withhold dues, pushing a potential conflict with President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials until at least after this summer's World Cup.

The WADA executive committee met and said it would consider the new rule in September, two months after the end of the World Cup, which the U.S. is hosting along with Canada and Mexico.

If such a rule is adopted later this year, it would presumably go into effect before the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

The U.S. hasn't paid its dues since 2023. If that continues, the new rule could place Trump and U.S. lawmakers on a banned list for Games in their own country, though there are doubts about whether an anti-doping regulator could keep any of them from attending the Olympics.

Conflict with WADA has not been a particularly partisan issue in the U.S., which withheld the payments in 2024 and 2025 — once during Trump's presidency and once during Joe Biden's.

The U.S. has withheld $7.3 million over the two years in protest of WADA’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.

WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald previously told The Associated Press the proposed rule would “not (be) applied retroactively so World Cup, LA and SLC Games would not be covered.”

However, the proposal, a copy of which was obtained by AP, did not include language to that effect and Fitzgerald did not respond to multiple emails seeking clarification about his use of the word “retroactively.”

After the meeting Tuesday, WADA director general Olivier Niggli said “the withholding of contributions by governments for political or other voluntary reasons remains a serious topic of concern for all WADA’s stakeholders.”

“Funding instability has a direct effect on the functioning and development of the World Anti-Doping Program,” Niggli said. “Ultimately, those who are most directly and most negatively impacted are athletes around the world.”

WADA started exploring the issue in 2020, around the time the U.S. began threatening to withhold money. But it says the issue of penalizing governments for not paying is not directly related to the United States.

A U.S. representative on the executive committee during the Biden administration — drug czar Rahul Gupta — led the effort to reject the proposal in 2024.

The U.S. has since lost its spot on the committee. The proposal emerged again earlier this year, and in correspondence with European decision-makers, a copy of which was obtained by AP, WADA told them such a measure could be adopted “without undue delay.”

The Europeans also asked WADA why the executive committee was taking up the issue again before a working group had finished its analysis.

A decision by the executive committee would have to be ratified by the WADA foundation board. Its next meeting is in November, though in the February letter to the Europeans, WADA said that board could meet sooner.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

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