Off the preceding delivery, Martin Guptill had nailed Deepak Chahar for a stunning six. Chahar came back in the very next ball to dismiss him.

On Wednesday, the first Twenty20 International (T20I) of the three-match series between India and New Zealand is being played in Jaipur (November 17). As a result of being given the opportunity to bat first, the visitors got off to a shaky start, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar pegging back Daryl Mitchell’s middle-stump in the first over alone. Martin Guptill and Mark Chapman, on the other hand, played outstanding cricket to assist the Kiwis in recovering and putting up a competitive total on the board.

When it came to hitting sixes at will after spending time in the middle, Guptill was particularly impressive, and the guy seemed like he was on his way to make a massive score in the death overs. Following a similar pattern, the final quarter of New Zealand’s innings got off to a flying start as the batters in the middle struck sixes off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar.

Banter out in the middle, it was really good to watch from both parties and the fans loved it

A little ‘eye-catching’ banter took place in the middle when Guptill struck Chahar for a big six off the first ball of the 18th over, setting the tone for the remainder of the innings. The hitter slammed the length delivery into the ground and turned to face the bowler, who just went back to his bowling mark after being pummelled by the batter.

Deepak Chahar, on the other hand, didn’t have to wait long to make a return of his own. Martin Guptill sought to club it for a six once again, but the delivery was a bit slower this time, and he was unable to get the ball to the centre as he would have wanted. Shreyas Iyer did an excellent job of catching the ball, and it was now time for Chahar to return the death look to the New Zealand batsman. In the midst, there was no communication, but there was a war taking on, and the bowler finally won it.

Deepak chahar is known for this 👀pic.twitter.com/TyZMPrD9pY

— IPLnCricket: Everything about Cricket #WorldCup23 (@IPLnCricket) November 17, 2021

Sawai Mansingh Stadium is illuminated by Guptill

Having said that, Martin Guptill, despite a sluggish start, demonstrated his versatility with his strokes. After the first wicket was taken in the first over, Mark Chapman was the one who was able to get more strikes. Guptill had faced just around 20 deliveries up to the start of the 12th over. This is when he started to play his strokes, ensuring that the visitors reached a respectable total on the flat surface that was available in Jaipur.

His batting was excellent, as seen by his 70 runs off 42 balls, which included three fours and four enormous sixes. With six fours and a couple of maximums, Chapman scored 63 runs off 50 deliveries, which was a good performance. These two batsmen both scored fifty runs, and New Zealand scored 164 runs in their 20 overs, losing just six wickets in the process.