Riding on Ishan Kishan’s quickfire 76 and skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s 82 not out off 37 deliveries, India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20I to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series here on Friday.
Chasing 209, Kishan laid the foundation for India’s victory with a 32-ball knock laced with 11 fours and four sixes after the hosts lost both openers quickly and were in a tough spot at 6-2 in 1.1 overs.
Kishan was well supported by Suryakumar, who returned to form with nine fours and four sixes, as India chased down their joint-highest T20I target with seven wickets and 28 balls to spare.
Suryakumar Kumar celebrates his half-century
Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav returned to form with two timely strikes in the middle overs as India limited New Zealand to 208-6 on a good batting surface.
Rachin Ravindra (44 off 26) and skipper Mitchell Santner (47 not out off 27) took the attack to India in different phases of the game to ensure New Zealand got past 200-run mark.
Expecting heavy dew, Suryakumar predictably opted to bowl with Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav playing instead of injured Axar Patel and rested Jasprit Bumrah.
Devon Conway (19 off nine balls) and Tim Seifert (24 off 13), fresh off BBL, got the Black Caps off to a flying start before falling in quick succession.
Mitchell Santner during his unbeaten 47 on Friday. PIC/BCCI
Conway, who has been caught in the slip cordon multiple times on the white ball tour thus far, went on the offensive in the first over against Arshdeep Singh despite being beaten by an outswinger on the very first ball of the match.
Brief scores
NZ 208-6 in 20 overs (M Santner 47*, R Ravindra 44; K Yadav 2-35) lost to India 209-3 in 15.2 overs (S Yadav 82*, I Kishan 76, Shivam Dube 36*) by seven wickets
21
No of balls taken by Ishan Kishan to score his half-century on Friday — the fastest by an Indian against New Zealand
One
No of half-centuries for Suryakumar Yadav since October 2024 (27 matches)
100
No of T20Is India have played at home
208-6
No of runs scored by New Zealand on Friday — their highest-ever T20I total against India, surpassing their previous best of 196-2 at Rajkot in 2017
Zero
No of half-centurions in NZ’s innings — their highest T20I total without an individual fifty
126
No of matches played by Hardik Pandya to become India’s second-most capped T20I player, overtaking Virat Kohli (125). He now trails only Rohit Sharma (159)
