Napier:Seamers Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj fired in tandem and shared eight wickets between them as India bowled New Zealand out for 160 in the third and final T20I here on Tuesday. Opting to bat first, New Zealand were going strong at 130 for two in the 16th over but the duo of Arshdeep (4/37) and Siraj (4/17) led a remarkable comeback to end the Kiwi innings with two balls to spare. The hosts lost eight wickets for just 30 runs after Devon Conway (59 off 49 balls) and Glenn Phillips (54 off 33) had propped up their innings.
India got their first breakthrough when Arshdeep had Finn Allen trapped in front of the wicket with a full delivery that swung in from around middle. Allen thought about a review before deciding to walk back as the ball was clearly going to hit the stumps.
Veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a tight third over before Conway decided to take on left-arm seamer Arshdeep, carting him through mid-wicket for a four before lofting the bowler over extra cover for a six. He then chipped one over the pacer's head for a lovely boundary.
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The fourth over yielded 19 runs and it seemed New Zealand were on their way. Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 14 runs in the next over as the Kiwis looked to end the powerplay, their weak area in recent times, on a strong note. However, a bowling change put paid to all such hopes as Siraj dismissed Mark Chapman for a run-a-ball 12. Against a length ball on middle and leg, Chapman got a leading edge while trying to flick and Arshdeep completed the catch without much fuss, ending a brief but brisk partnership.