Ajinkya Rahane congratulated teammate Rohit Sharma for a winning start to his T20I captaincy stint after India crushed New Zealand by 73 runs to sweep the 3-match series 3-0 in Kolkata on Sunday night.

Rohit Sharma led from the front once again for, scoring 56 runs as India posted 184 for 7 on the board and then bowled out New Zealand for 111 in 17.2 overs thanks Axar Patel’s three-wicket haul to win their third successive T20I and register their second successive series clean sweep against the Blackcaps in 2021.

Rohit, leading India for the first time after replacing Virat Kohli as the T20I skipper, was Player of the Series with 159 runs from 3 games.

IND vs NZ, T20I Series: Full Coverage

Rahane, who will be captaining India in the first Test against New Zealand this month, took to social media to congratulate Rohit on starting his tenure on such an emphatic winning note.

“Many congratulations @ImRo45 for a wonderful start with the series victory yesterday. Many more to come!” Rahane tweeted.

Rohit was in top form both as opener and the captain of India throughout the series. He struck fifties in the last two games and narrowly missed out in the first by just 2 runs.

The series win was India’s third against New Zealand in T20 internationals and also the first under new head coach Rahul Dravid, who asked the team to remain realistic about this 3-0 sweep.

Dravid highlighted the fact that it wasn’t easy for New Zealand to play 3 T20Is in 6 days right after their gruelling campaign in the recent World Cup in the UAE where finished runners-up to Australia just 3 days prior to the start of this series.

“I think it was a really good series win. Everyone played well right through the series. It’s nice to start well but we are realistic and we need to keep our feet on the ground.

“It’s not easy for New Zealand to show up after a World Cup final and play three games in six days. We have to keep our feet on the ground and learn some things on the way forward,” Dravid said after the match.

India will now host New Zealand in a two-Test series in Kanpur and Mumbai from November 25. Rahane will lead the hosts in the opening game before Virat Kohli returns from his break for the second game. The visitors will also welcome back Kane Williamson, who had taken a break from the T20Is.