Team India pulled off a nail-biting win to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand at the Seddon Park In Hamilton On Wednesday. For the longest possible time, the Men in Blue were looking behind in the match with BlackCaps skipper Kane Williamson taking the attack to the leader of their bowling unit– Jasprit Bumrah.

But the Kiwis went to go past the winning line as Mohammed Shami kept his cool and pulled out an epic final over where he not only claimed the prized scalps of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, he also ensured that the game went to the Super Over. The men in blue were chasing as many as 18 runs in the Super Over but the target was overhauled thanks to Rohit Sharma’s whirlwind back-to-back sixes.

ALSO READ: Anushka Sharma And Virender Sehwag Applauds India’s Nail-biting Win

Sharma was named the ‘Player of the Match’ but the swashbuckling opener hailed Shami as the real reason behind India’s win. Talking about the game during the post-match press conference, he said, “The whole staff was inside my bag, I had to get it out. It literally took me five minutes to find my abdominal guard. But, yeah, we never thought it would go to the Super Over, but I think Shami’s last over was crucial. That actually got us the victory, not my two sixes!” 

With nine runs to defend in the final over, what made Shami’s become more special was that he was bowling to two veteran campaigners in Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, and with the pitch settling in nicely, and the first ball going for a six, the way he held his own was truly remarkable.

ALSO READ: Rohit Sharma Applauds Sportsmanship Of New Zealand U-19 Team

Talking about Shami’s over, Sharma said, “It was Shami’s over where he defended nine runs. It’s not easy with the due and the wicket settling in nicely and two set batsmen batting there as well; Kane Williamson was batting on 95 while Ross Taylor was their most experienced player ever, so hats-off to Shami to bowl that over and get back us into the game and taking it to the Super-Over.” 

Courtesy this win, the Indian team has now taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, and the fact that it came in a manner that it did, made it even more remarkable.