India’s decision to bowl first produced instant drama as Arshdeep Singh opened the attack against New Zealand in the fourth T20I. Facing him, Tim Seifert walked a fine line between aggression and fortune, surviving multiple edges in a lively opening over.
After a quiet start, Seifert suddenly cashed in with three consecutive fours, all coming via thick edges rather than clean timing. One flew over short third man, another raced past the fielder after an attempted slash, while a third saw Jasprit Bumrah get a hand to the ball but fail to control it near the boundary. What could easily have been a wicket instead turned into a rapid momentum shift for New Zealand.
The over underlined the fine margins early in the innings, especially with swing on offer. Arshdeep mixed short balls and away movement, troubling both openers despite the boundary count. A yorker to close the over limited further damage, but Seifert had already ensured a brisk start.
At the other end, Devon Conway began cautiously. However, numbers remain a concern for him. Conway has been dismissed four times by Arshdeep Singh and twice by Harshit Rana in T20Is, and his recent form only adds pressure during the powerplay.
With slip in place and movement off the pitch, India clearly backed their data-driven match-ups. While Seifert escaped early, the opening exchanges suggested wickets were not far away, setting up an intriguing powerplay battle between India’s pace attack and New Zealand’s unsettled opening pair.
