Tim Seifert, Devon Conway achieve rare feat with mammoth opening stand during 4th India-New Zealand T20
While Tim Seifert single-handedly took on the Indian bowlers in the first five overs, Devon Conway eventually caught up as the two openers got New Zealand off to an ideal start in the fourth T20I against India in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
New Zealand were off to a confident start after they were invited to bat by India in the fourth T20I in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, thanks to the century partnership between openers Tim Seifert and Devon Conway. Wicketkeeper-batter Seifert got the team off to a confident start with a flurry of boundaries in the powerplay and would go on to bring up his 13th half-century for the Black Caps in the 20-over format.
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India vs New Zealand, 4th T20I in Visakhapatnam
Conway, meanwhile, was happy to play spectator in the first five overs but shifted gears soon after, and would bring up the century of his opening partnership with Seifert with a six off Kuldeep Yadav at the start of the ninth over.
In the process, Seifert and Conway pulled off a feat that had not been achieved against the Men in Blue in over three years. They were, after all, the first opening duo to forge a century stand against India in T20Is since Jos Buttler and Alex Hales’ unbeaten 170-run stand in the semi-finals of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Adelaide, Australia.
The Seifert-Conway stand was also the first instance of a century-plus opening partnership against India in India, and interestingly, it was a Kiwi pair that had last achieved the feat – by Colin Munro and Martin Guptill in Rajkot in 2017.
Kuldeep ends superb opening stand between Seifert and Conway
The partnership, however, came to an end soon as it breached the century mark, with Kuldeep drawing first blood for the Indians after Conway holed out to Rinku Singh at deep cover to depart for 44 off 23 deliveries.
One wicket would then quickly lead to another with Rachin Ravindra offering Jasprit Bumrah a catch off his own bowling to depart for 2. Seifert fell for 62 off 36 deliveries shortly after the drinks interval, his lofted shot down the ground off Arshdeep Singh’s bowling resulting in a second catch for Rinku, this time at long off.
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Both India and New Zealand have made one change each for the fourth T20I in Vizag, with the Men in Blue bringing left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh in place of wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan.
India have already clinched the five-match series with an unassailable 3-0 lead, and will be hoping to complete a whitewash before shifting their focus to their title defence at the T20 World Cup.
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