India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I, highlights: IND beat NZ by 8-wickets with 10 overs remaining and win series 3-0

(On his 14-ball fifty) That's what my team wants from me and I just want to execute all the time. But obviously, it's not easy to do it every time, but I think it's all about mental as well and the atmosphere you get around your dressing room as well. That's more than impossible for anyone (to break Yuvraj's fastest T20 fifty record), but still, you never know. Any batsman could do it because I think all the batters have been batting really well in this series as well and going forward, it's going to be fun. (On hitting another 1st ball six) I wouldn't say it's like I want to go from the first ball. It's just the instinct I get in between the wickets. I think about the bowler if he wants to get out on my first ball, then what he could bowl to me and that's always there in my mind and I just want to play on that ball. (On stepping out of the crease and moving leg-side to access the off-side) If you see that, that's all about the field placement because I never step out to the leg-side if I don't get fielding on ... there's a leg side, because if I get room for myself, then I have the whole ground off-side for me. So, that's always in my mind. I just want to play with the field.

Runs keep coming quick and fast for the Indians. The pace at which both Surya and Abhishek are batting, we might see the game get over by 15. This series is not just a statement for New Zealand but also to the other sides in the World Cup. It is not just going to be the Indian bowling that will be hard to deal with, but the batting to and if they have to get the better of the side, they have to overpower them, and also their bowling has to be absolutely top-notch. These Kiwi bowlers are some pretty good ones who are being hammered at the moment in this series.

Ishan Kishan has fallen here. Ish Sodhi came into the attack in the power play, and he has picked up the batter. It was a flipper, and Kishan did seem to be hurried a bit by the delivery while he tried to hit it through the mid-wicket region, and Chapman took the catch. Although it did come inside the fourth over, the rate at which India is scoring is a worrying sign for the Kiwis. Suryakumar Yadav has walked into the middle. Well, if the last game, New Zealand looked flawed, they have fallen a notch down in this game with their performance.

Well, what a first over we had. Matt Henry has picked up the wicket of Sanju Samson. Samson was showing all his stumps was setup like a power-hitter who comes to bat after the 12th over in this version of the game. It is fine when there is not a lot on offer for the bowlers, but someone of the quality of a bowler as Henry tends to extract anything available, and he swung one back, which hit his pads and rolled onto the stumps. That is a third failure for Samson in a row in this series. Wonder what solution India will come up with as we get closer to the World Cup.

Well, it has been a pretty pleasing bowling performance from India. Their fielding has been quite top class, they have taken some superb catches to start the innings, which did rattle the Kiwis, and the bowlers maintained that pressure through the innings. Ravi Bishnoi, on his return after 11 months, has been quite superb with the ball, and Jasprit Bumrah too has picked up three wickets. As per New Zealand they did start poorly yet again today but at the half-way stage of the innings they were set to get 180 which would have given them a fighting chance but in the second half they lost wickets in clusters which did not let them to have any momentum. We will be right back after the break do join us.

Well, India has picked up two more wickets since our last update. First, it was Hardik Pandya who dug a delivery short, which Mitchell tried to hit through the off-side, ended up giving the catch to a fielder over there, and then it was a bit of a poor shot from Glenn Phillips, who tried to hit one through the mid-wicket and was caught on the boundary over there. New Zealand have lost six wickets and now getting to 150 is looking like a win for them. Although Mitchell Santer has been pretty good with the bat in recent times, he will also need some support from the other end.

Ravi Bishnoi has bowled quite well this evening, and he has been rewarded with the wicket of Mark Chapman. It was a clever delivery from the leg-spinner who predominetly bowlers googlies which go into the left-hander. Chapman did seem to be taken by a bit of surprise when Bishnoi threw one wide of the stumps, which Chapman tried to play on the off-side, got the edge, and Samson completed the rest. This has been a pretty good outing for Bishnoi. He is doing no harm to his chances in his comeback game after 11 months here.

This has been a pretty different start to the game compared to what we have seen in the first couple of games, where the scores have pretty high. The start which New Zealand has made here, it will take something miraculous from here on for them to get anywhere close to 200 here. Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman are looking to build a partnership here, but they need to make sure they do not take too long and have at least 180 as the score they need to get in mind. Also, something which is quite interesting here is that despite those early wickets, New Zealand has opted not to send in Mitchell but Chapman.

Hardik Pandya has picked up the wicket of Rachin Ravindra. There was only one man on the leg-side on the boundary in Ravi Bishnoi at square-leg, and Ravindra timed one straight to him. It has been a pretty ordinary tour for Rachin so far with the bat, or generally his numbers in T20Is have been quite shocking. He is a naturally attacking player, but the talent has not been converted into runs. Well this is third time in the series where New Zealand has lost two early wickets and are again at the mercy of Glenn Phillips to save the day for them.

The pitch promises to be good for batting, and we might have another high-scoring affair on the cards. The crowd is buzzing. We did see a cracking batting display from both sides so far in the tournament. Will we see another today?

I was just hoping to just go in, be calm and watch each and every ball and just play the cricketing shots which are required at that point of time. When you are chasing a total like 209, it's very important to get as many runs as you can in the powerplay. But at the same point, my thinking was, let's not think of losing my wicket by playing shots, but at the same time, I can play some good shots. And I felt, for left-hand batsmen, it was much easier to play in the middle, the way they were bowling. So I thought of just getting in that zone and getting as many runs as possible. I just had one question, if I can do this again or not. If I do it again, that will give me much more confidence for myself. I just need to enjoy each and every time because, sometimes it's hard to be in the present moment, but at the same time, it matters the most when you are in the present and you just take one day at a time or one game at a time. And you just try and put up a good show. So that was the whole point of me just enjoying cricket and getting back to the basics, taking a step back and just focusing on what's important for me. After looking at everything, after going through everything, I think there's not much change I get. I don't get much happy. I don't get more sad. So it's just that I'm in the present and you know, important thing is World Cup is ahead and what we need to do in the World Cup is more important. So I was just thinking about how we are going to win this trophy and what else we need to improve in ourselves.

We'll look to bowl first, the wicket looks good and there will be a little bit of dew later on. So, I would like to chase tonight. (Message to the teammates) I think let's let's try and repeat the good habits, be the same way, enjoy, be fearless, take your own calls when you're inside because two batters or bowlers who are bowling, I think they're the best to judge inside. Wnjoy it and at the same time be a little humble as well. It's always good, someone like Shivam, Hardik and some days Abhishek Sharma chipping in one or two overs. It's always a big boost. Hardik has been doing that for India for a very long time. Shivam Dube is doing it recently. So it's a big boost and we're very happy with it. We've two changes - Arshdeep and Varun resting tonight. Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi come in.

Devon Conway, Tim Seifert(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy

“The games can be played in the afternoon. Teams like New Zealand will not bother because they dont have many bowlers and they know that in such conditions nothing can be done. But in teams like India, if a player has not done well in two games and comes and bowls in such conditions in the third game and goes for runs, his career will be over. It is unfair to play in such conditions.

“You can bring Varun on whenever you want in the powerplay. Kuldeep does not usually bowl in the powerplay. Varun does. The captain will never hesitate to give Varun the fourth or fifth over, worrying that he might go for 20 runs. There is no such concern with Varun. He comes on and takes wickets in the fifth over, takes powerplay wickets, takes wickets in the middle overs, and later on as well,” he added.

“Varun has gone far ahead. If you talk about his control, earlier he used to bowl only the googly. Now he has learned leg spin as well. He knows that even if he gets hit for one or two balls, it’s okay, because he can get the batter out on the next ball. As a spinner, when you develop that belief in your bowling that even if you get hit it doesn’t matter because you can still take a wicket on the next delivery, that confidence is clearly visible in him,” he added.

The temperature on Sunday is expected to be 26 degrees in the morning and is going to fall to 13 degrees in the evening. The difference might create scope for dew, which might tempt the teams winning the toss to opt to bowl first.

“If they wanted to win the World Cup, they needed their captain in form. His knock also definitely sends a big signal to the other teams in the World Cup. It had been over a year since he scored a T20I fifty. That is a long time, especially being captain; it would have played on his mind. But now that he is in form again, the rest of the team will take confidence from that, and they now look like the complete package. So it’s definitely a warning sign to all other teams,” De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

“If you want to give rest, give rest to Arshdeep Singh. If you want to bring in Harshit Rana, if Axar Patel is injured and you need batting at number eight, then rest Arshdeep and bring in Bumrah. I mean, why are we even comparing here? There is no comparison at all,” Kaif added.

“This could be the most important match of Sanju Samson’s life. I say that because this is the third match, Tilak Varma might be available after this match, and you might see him playing the match on the 28th. Then only one of Ishan Kishan and Sanju will play,” Chopra said.

“It’s way too early to think of dropping him. If India keeps doing such circus acts by playing Sanju when he did well before, and now Kishan because he’s playing well now, I don’t have to tell how it’ll end for India. It’s not ideal inside the dressing room. There is a lot of competition for places, but it’s too early for this change,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“It is an advantage, the other teams will be travelling and staying in different hotels, playing at different grounds. We also will be playing different grounds in Colombo but will be staying at the same hotel. But that doesn’t mean that we can win even if we don’t play good cricket,” said Agha in a press conference in which Pakistan announced their squad for the T20 World Cup.

“Bangladesh has been treated unfairly. One country can make any decision whenever, while it is the opposite for another. Bangladesh is a major stakeholder and this injustice should not happen,” Naqvi told reporters.

"When you come up against a side that bats deep on a really good wicket, that's the way India have come out - with intent from ball one. I guess they have a license for every batter. For us, it's about trying to squeeze wherever we can."

Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy