Axar Patel took three wickets as India completed a 3-0 sweep against New Zealand with a 73-run win in their third Twenty20 match on Sunday.
Martin Guptill scored 51 off 36 balls as T20 World Cup finalist New Zealand crashed in its chase to 111 all out in 17.2 overs against India in Kolkata.
Rohit Sharma’s 56 off 31 balls had led India to 184-7 after winning the toss and choosing to bat.
Indian players celebrate with the winners trophy after their win in the third Twenty20 cricket match against New Zealand in Kolkata, India, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. India won the series 3-0. (AP PhotoBikas Das)
India won the first T20 in Jaipur by five wickets and the second T20 in Ranchi by seven wickets.
Chasing 185, New Zealand had a torrid start to its innings. Patel took three wickets in 10 deliveries as the Black Caps were reduced to 30-3.
Daryl Mitchell (5), Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips were Patel’s victims. The latter duo didn’t even open their accounts, facing six deliveries in all.
India's captain Rohit Sharma walks with the winners trophy after their win in the third Twenty20 cricket match against New Zealand in Kolkata, India, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. India won the series 3-0. (AP PhotoBikas Das)
Patel finished with 3-9 in three overs.
Guptill, who struck four fours and four sixes, fell to Yuzvendra Chahal (1-26) and was caught in the deep after his half-century.
India’s superiority saw Tim Seifert (17) and Lockie Ferguson (14) as the only other batters to reach double figures. Harshal Patel finished with 2-26.
India's Deepak Chahar takes the catch to dismiss New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson during the third Twenty20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Kolkata, India, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. (AP PhotoBikas Das)
Earlier, Sharma struck his 30th half-century in international T20 cricket.
He put on 69 runs with opening partner Ishan Kishan (29) off 38 balls.
Stand-in skipper Mitchell Santner took 3-27 in four overs as India suffered a minor blip.
India's Axar Patel, right, celebrates the dismissal of New Zealand's Glenn Phillips during the third Twenty20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Kolkata, India, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. (AP PhotoBikas Das)
Santner dismissed Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant in two overs. Then, Sharma fell after his half-century as India stumbled to 103-4.
Shreyas Iyer (25) and Venkatesh Iyer (20) stabilized the innings. Deepak Chahar’s 21 not out off eight balls took the score past 180.
A two-test series begins Nov. 25, with the first match to be played in Kanpur.
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