3rd T20I: Top-order guides New Zealand to mammoth 212/4 vs India

Hamilton, Feb 10 (IANS) A brilliant top-order batting display helped New Zealand post a mammoth 212/4 against India in the third and final Twenty20 International match here on Sunday.

Colin Munro's 72 off 40 balls and Tim Seifert's 43-run knock set up a perfect platform for the other batters which helped them post a massive total.

Apart from the duo, Colin de Grandhomme (30) and Kane Williamson (27) also contributed handsomely.

Put in to bat, New Zealand openers Seifert and Munro got off to a flying start, slamming 80 runs in just 7.4 overs before Seifert was stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni off chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. In his 25 ball stay, Seifert hit three boundaries and as many sixes.

Unperturbed by the fall of the opener's wicket, Munro and skipper Williamson joined hands for a 55-run stand for the second wicket to help New Zealand get past the 130 run mark in 13 overs.

Just when things seemed good in the middle, Munro was dismissed by Kuldeep in 13.2 overs. He slammed five boundaries and as many sixes which also included some beautifully crafted shots.

Grandhomme and williamson then tried to continue the flow of runs at the same pace but in the process, Williamson departed. The skipper was sent packing by pacer Khaleel Ahmed in 14.4 overs when scoreboard was reading 150 runs.

Despite the wicket, Grandhomme kept on playing his shots before his stay was cut short by pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the penultimate over.

Daryl Mitchell (19) and Ross Taylor (14) remained unbeaten and finished off the proceedings.

For India, Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets while Bhuvneshwar and Khaleel took a wicket each.

Brief scores: New Zealand: 212/4 ( Colin Munro 72, Tim Seifert 43; Kuldeep Yadav 2/26) against India.