1st T20 International: New Zealand crush India by 80 runs
Wellington, Feb 6: A below-par India slumped to their worst ever defeat in T20 Internationals as New Zealand outclassed the visitors in all departments to win the first match of the series by a comprehensive 80-run margin here Wednesday.
Batting first, unheralded keeper-batsman Tim Seifert took the Indian bowling apart blasting 84 off 43 balls as New Zealand posted a commanding 219 for six.
With the crack opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma (1) and Shikhar Dhawan (29) departing within the Powerplay overs, the chase became a difficult one and India were all out for 139 in 19.2 overs.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (39 off 31 balls) did play his part but it was always an impossible chase with wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end. India had never lost a T20 International by 50 or more runs prior to this match. India's previous worst was a 49-run loss to Australia back in 2010.
"We failed to get a good partnership. 200 was never going to be easy to chase," said Rohit in the post-match presentation.
New Zealand bowlers kept the pressure on Indian batsmen, especially the two spinners left-arm orthodox Mitchell Santner (2/24 in 4 overs) and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (2/26 in 3 overs).
Senior pacer Tim Southee (3/17 in 4 overs) had the best figures among the bowlers and the best delivery of the match was bowled by Lockie Ferguson, who yorked Dhawan.
They kept the batsmen under tight check and for some like World Cup aspirant Rishabh Pant (4, 10 balls), it was a frustrating little stay in the middle and he simply couldn't get going.
On a pitch where Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (1/35 in 4 overs) and Krunal (1/37 in 4 overs) went for plenty, the Black Caps slow bowlers literally tightened the noose on the visitors.
While Pant didn't do his chances any good, Vijay Shankar (27 off 17 balls) impressed during his little cameo but would need to do more in order to book a place in that World Cup bound squad.
The Pandya brothers Krunal and Hardik endured a contrasting day.
While Krunal (he also scored 20 off 18 balls) had an okay outing, Hardik would quickly like to forget the nightmare (2/51 in 4 overs and 4 runs) before India play the second match of the series in Auckland on Friday.
Earlier, Seifert, whose previous best score in T20 Internationals happens to be 14, was promoted to open alongside Colin Munro (34 off 20 balls) and they added 86 runs in only 8.2 overs in a whirlwind start.
Seifert's knock had seven fours and half a dozen sixes, setting the tone for a big total.
Seifert showed the intent straightaway as he gave Bhuvneshwar Kumar the charge, picking the knuckle ball early, dispatching it over mid-wicket for a six. The next shot was a four as he stood and hammered past the bowler.
With Munro hitting Khaleel Ahmed (1/48 in 4 overs) for two successive sixes, New Zealand were off to a blazing start scoring 44 off the first four overs.
Seifert was lucky to survive when Dhoni dropped a sharp chance after the batsman had edged one off Krunal.
But he promptly put the next delivery into the stands, moving across towards off and sweeping it over backward square leg.
There weren't any signs of overt footwork but he shuffled enough inside the crease to make room for the big shots and in the process disturbed the line and length of the bowlers.
When Hardik drifted on the leg stump, he was flicked behind the square and when he pitched wide outside off-stump, he was lofted over the cover point region.
In Hardik's next over, Seifert again hit the bowler for a boundary and a flicked six. In between, his elder brother Krunal was switch hit for a boundary.
The elder Pandya finally got a breakthrough when Munro was caught in the deep off Vijay Shankar.
But Seifert never let the momentum drop and hit two more sixes off Krunal, who just kept on pushing the ball through a flatter trajectory.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
