New DELHI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - India romped to a 73-run victory over New Zealand in their third and final Twenty20 International in Kolkata on Sunday as head coach Rahul Dravid began his tenure with a 3-0 series sweep.<\/p>\n
Home captain Rohit Sharma smashed 56 off 31 balls to fire the hosts to a strong 184-7 in the dead rubber at Eden Gardens.<\/p>\n
Martin Guptill made a breezy 51 but New Zealand, runners-up at the recent Twenty20 World Cup, were all out for 111 in the 18th over.<\/p>\n
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\"It's nice to start well,\" Dravid, who inherited the coaching reins from Ravi Shastri after the World Cup, told the official broadcasters.<\/p>\n
\"But we have to be realistic about this win and keep our feet on the ground.\"<\/p>\n
\"It's been really good to see some of the younger guys come through.\"<\/p>\n
Opting to bat, India plundered 69 runs off the first six overs and, after a mid-innings blip, 50 off the last five to post a strong total.<\/p>\n
Having taken over as India's 20-overs captain after Virat Kohli relinquished the role following the World Cup, Rohit combined with Ishan Kishan (29) to give India a flying start.<\/p>\n
Mitchell Santner (3-27) dismissed Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in the same over and then Ish Sodhi took a sharp return catch from Rohit to bring some relief for the tourists.<\/p>\n
India accelerated in the last five overs with Deepak Chahar providing the late assault with 21 off eight balls.<\/p>\n
When they returned to defend the total, spinner Axar Patel (3-9) removed Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman in the same over to rattle New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Guptill refused to get bogged down though, racing to a 33-ball fifty to keep New Zealand on course.<\/p>\n
The opener clobbered four sixes and contributed 51 of the 69 runs that the tourists scored in the first 10 overs.<\/p>\n
But once Yuzvendra Chahal removed Guptill in the 11th over, India had the game in the bag.<\/p>\n
The teams will now lock horns in a two-test series beginning in Kanpur on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in Dubai; editing by Toby Davis<\/p>\n
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<\/p>\n
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India sweep T20 series against New Zealand to kick off Dravid era - Reuters India<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New DELHI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - India romped to a 73-run victory over New Zealand in their third and final Twenty20 International in Kolkata on Sunday as head coach Rahul Dravid began his tenure with a 3-0 series sweep. Home captain Rohit Sharma smashed 56 off 31 balls to fire the hosts to a strong 184-7 in the dead rubber at Eden Gardens. Martin Guptill made a breezy 51 but New Zealand, runners-up at the recent Twenty20 World Cup, were all out for 111 in the 18th over Continue reading