80-run win vs India has set the tone for the rest of the series: Kane Williamson
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson expressed delight at his team’s “complete” performance in the first T20I of a three-match series against India at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday. The Black Caps handed India their biggest-ever defeat in terms of the margin of runs 80 and started the series on a high.
Williamson said the big win has set the tone for New Zealand for the remainder of the series. However, he insisted that there’s no room for complacency and that the Black Caps can still work on a few things ahead of the 2nd T20I on Friday.
After being sent into bat, New Zealand posted a mammoth total of 219 under the lights. Wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert, who replaced an injured Martin Guptill, took the India bowlers to the cleaners, hitting a 43-ball 84. Seifert stitched an 86 runs stand with Colin Munro and gave the hosts a strong start.
Captain Williamson chipped in with a handy 34-ball 22 while Ross Taylor (23) and Scott Kuggeleijn (20) played cameos towards the end of their innings. After losing opener Rohit Sharma early, India kept losing regular wickets and were eventually bowled out for 139 with four balls to spare. MS Dhoni hit a 39-ball 31 but it wasn’t enough as he was running out of partners at a serious pace.
