New Zealand visited India to play 3 T20 international matches bilateral series in the month of November 2021. It was a crucial T20 series for India after a big loss in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. New Zealand on the other hand performed very well in the World Cup and became the runners-up. In addition, it was an important series for the new captain Rohit Sharma along with new coach Rahul Dravid. Kane Williamson was missed for the T20I series and Tim Southee was leading the Kiwis squad in place of Williamson.
India vs NZ T20 series 2021 started with the first match which was played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on 17 November 2021. Rohit Sharma, an Indian captain, won the toss and invited the opposition to bat first. For India, Venkatesh Iyer made his T20 international debut in that match. Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell were sent out to the middle to open the attack and the new ball was handed over to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. India got the first breakthrough in the first over of Bhuvi when he clean bowled Daryl Mitchell for 0. Afterward, Mark Chapman came on the pitch to join Guptill and both of them struck the fifties and built up 109 runs in pairs for the first wicket. Finally, New Zealand had put a total of 164 runs on the board with the help of Guptill's 70 and Mark Chapman’s 63 runs. India got the target of 165 runs to win the first match of the series.
For India, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma came out to the middle to chase the target and they started well by making 50 runs in 5.1 overs. After that, India lost Rahul but that did not impact much on Indian batters. Suryakumar Yadav did perform well and struck 62 runs from 40 balls that helped the Indian team to achieve the target with 2 balls remaining. India registered a victory in the opening match by 5 wickets and Suryakumar Yadav was awarded the Man of the Match award.
The second match of India vs New Zealand T20I series 2021 was played at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on 19 November 2021. Indian captain Rohit Sharma again won the toss and invited the Kiwis to bat first. Except for Guptill and Glenn Phillips, no batsman looked very confident in front of Indian bowlers and could make 153 runs in 20 overs. Harshal Patel took 2 crucial wickets for New Zealand. On the other hand, When Indian openers came out to chase the target; the partnership of 117 runs between them had made the target easy. India did achieve the target without any hurdle in 17.2 overs only. Harshal Patel was chosen the Man of the Match.
In the third match of the series, which was played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 21 November 2021, India again won the toss but this time they went to bat first. Rohit Sharma again struck a fifty and scored 56 runs from 31 balls. Then with some small but important contributions from the lower middle-order batsmen, team India had set a target of 184 runs for New Zealand. Mitchell Santner was phenomenal for New Zealand by taking 3 wickets. On the other hand, when New Zealand came out to chase the target, their batsmen again struggled against the Indian spinner. Axar Patel gave only 9 runs in his 3 overs and took 3 wickets and completely demolished the Kiwis batting lineup. Only Guptill performed well with the bat and scored 51 runs but that was not enough. Thus, India bowled out NZ at 111 total only and won the third match by 73 runs. The Man of the Match was awarded to Axar Patel and Rohit Sharma was named for the Man of the Series.