Though one of the best T20 batsmen in the world, Guptill has never played an IPL match. No franchise wanted to buy him ever!
New Zealand's Martin Guptill plays a shot bowls during the World T20 cricket match between New Zealand and Pakistan. Source: Getty Images
Guptill is the third most aggregate run scorer in international IPL matches (1791), just behind Brendum McCullum and Tilakaratne Dilshan. Currently positioned at number five in the T20 world rankings, he is one of the six batsmen in the world to have scored century in all three formats of the game - Test, ODI and T20.
Still it remains a mystery that Guptill went unsold in IPL auctions. The reason, explained, being: he is not suitable for the Indian conditions.
What an answer to give, not by words but by bat.
And the cricket fans on social media celebrated it.
Michael Vaughan tweet:
Facts you may not know about Guptill
Marty Two Toes: Guptill is nicknamed so, because he has just two toes on his left feet. At the age of 13, a forklift crushed his foot. It was former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming’s visit to the hospital that lifted the spirits of young Guptill and helped him go this far.
Two Stars’ Home: Guptill is not the only star at his home. He is married to a star television presenter in New Zealand - Laura McGoldtrick. They started dating after an Laura’s interview with Guptill in 2011.
A Friend of Records: Guptill is the first New Zealand player to score an ODI century in debut match. It was a 122 not out against West Indies. He is the batsman with the highest individual score in a world cup match too, after scoring an unbeaten 237 against West Indies in last year’s ODI World Cup.
Aided by Guptill’s breathtaking performance, New Zealand became the first team to secure their position in the World T20. After choosing to bat at Mohali, Kiwi’s made a good total of 5/180. Guptill’s innings saw three huge sixes and ten boundaries.
Pakistan's Sharjeel Khan bats during the World T20 cricket match between New Zealand and Pakistan. Source: Getty Images
Even though opener Sharjeel Khan has started in the same pace as of Guptill, supported by Ahmed Shehzad, no other Pak batsmen could support him. Sharjeel scored 47 off 25 balls with nine fours and one six.
After 20 overs Pakistan could reach only 158 at the expense of five wickets.
With this result, Pakistan is almost knocked out of the tournament. The have one win and two defeats against them, with one match remaining against Australia on Friday. Even though Pakistan manage to win against the Aussies, they have a bleak chance to progress to semi final.
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi announced after the match that the game against Australia might be his last international outing.
Pakistan's captain Shahid Afridi leaves the ground after getting dismissed during the World T20 cricket match between New Zealand and Pakistan. Source: Getty Images
Enjoy the full match highlights here:
Matches Tonight:
Afghanistan will face England in the first match tonight, at 3.00pm IST (8.30pm AEDT) at Delhi’s Firoz Sha Kotla ground.
In the second match, India and Bangladesh meet at Bengaluru Chinnaswamy stadium at 7.30pm IST (1.00am AEDT). In a group where things are highly unpredictable, India has to win this match to keep their chances high.
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