New Zealand beat India by 4 runs in third T20 match to clinch series
New Zealand Cricket team on Sunday defeated the Indian team in the 3rd and final T20I of the series and thereby winning the series in a nail biting series decider in Hamilton.
Chasing a target of 213 runs, set by the Black caps after opting to bowl first, India got the desired start, even after losing Shikhar Dhawan in the first over, as youngster Vijay Shankar at number 3 and skipper Rohit Sharma steadied the ship for the visitors and nicely keeping up with the required run rate.
But after the departure of Vijay Shankar after scoring a well-made 43, the visitors kept losing wickets at regular interval despite some good cameos by Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya.
Towards the end, senior man Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya tried their heart out to take their team home, but missed on the opportunity by 4 runs, thereby conceding the series.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, speaking after the match added "It would have been nice to win the series and go home and play Australia, but unfortunately we couldn't do that".
Mahendra Singh Dhoni who came in to bat at number five, one again disaapointed his fans in New Zealand who were present to watch Dhoni with placards reading "Vintage Dhoni, one last time in New Zealand".
With the T20I over, India conclude their long tour of Australia and New Zealand which began in October last year, and will now host Australia at home for 2 T20Is and 5 ODIs starting Feb 24
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
