1st T20I: Rookie keeper Seifert smashes 84 as New Zealand score 219/6 vs India
Wellington, Feb 6: Unheralded wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert took the Indian bowling attack to cleaners with a scintillating 84 off 43 balls as New Zealand scored a commanding 219 for 6 in the first T20 International here Wednesday.
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 of sixes, setting the tone for a big total.
Seifert showed the intent straightaway as he gave Bhuvneshwar Kumar the charge as he picked 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 Mahendra Singh Dhoni dropped a sharp chance as the batsman had edged one off Krunal Pandya (1/37 in 4 overs).
But he promptly put the next delivery into the stands moving across towards off and sweeping it over backward square leg.
There wasn't signs of overt footwork but he shuffled enough inside the crease to make room for the big shots and in the process disturb the line and length of the bowlers.
When Hardik Pandya (2/51 in 4 overs) drifted on the leg stump, he was flicked behind the square and when he pitched wide outside off-stump, he lofted him cover point region.
In Hardik's next over, he 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 as Munro was caught in the deep off Vijay Shankar.
But Seifert never let the momentum drop as he hit two more sixes off Krunal, who just kept on pushing the ball through a flatter trajectory.
The normally dependable Yuzvendra Chahal (1/35 in 4 overs) also was slog swept over mid-wicket for the sixth maximum apart from being hit over extra cover for a boundary.
Just when it looked that a century was there for the taking, Khaleel bowled one in the block hole coming wide off the crease to clean Seifert up.
Once Seifert was gone, skipper Kane Williamson (34 off 22 balls) took charge and Scott Kuggeliejn (20 no off 7 balls) finished with a flourish. PTI KHS.
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K’taka cabinet approves cricket matches at M. Chinnaswamy stadium: Reports
Belagavi: The state cabinet under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reportedly given its nod to permit cricket matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, subject to certain conditions.
The decision is learnt to have been taken after a meeting held at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Thursday.
Reports indicate that Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara has been directed to formulate rules along with a referendum to hold a cricket match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The cabinet’s approval comes subject to conditions, considering the report of Justice D’Cunha, which was prepared after the stampede.
The June 4 stampede during the celebrations for RCB’s maiden IPL title killed 11 people, which raised serious questions over the stadium's capability to host large-scale events.
Will RCB be playing at their home ground next year?
Stating that the “state had learned from the tragedy,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday, December 08, dismissed the talks about shifting Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home games out of the city.
He also said that the Chinnaswamy Stadium is the “pride of Bengaluru and Karnataka” and vowed that IPL fixtures will continue to be played there.
On Wednesday, Shivakumar met the newly elected KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad at the Circuit House in Belagavi and reiterated that cricket matches, including IPL fixtures, will not be shifted out of Bengaluru.
“We have no intention of stopping matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium, but crowd control measures and the Michael D. Cunha committee’s recommendations will be implemented in phases,” he told reporters.
Shivakumar said the government is committed to promoting cricket and supporting fans while safeguarding the state’s reputation, adding that Prasad had sought the government’s cooperation and agreed to work jointly on the issue.
