India surged to a convincing seven-wicket victory against New Zealand in the second T20I, propelled by Ishan Kishan’s explosive 76 runs and captain Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 82 off just 37 balls. This win puts India ahead 2-0 in the five-match series.
In pursuit of 209 runs, Kishan played a remarkable innings, striking 11 fours and four sixes in just 32 balls, helping India recover from a rocky start at 6-2 within the first two overs. Suryakumar Yadav showcased his return to form with a dynamic performance, hitting nine fours and four sixes, allowing India to chase down their joint-highest T20I target with 28 balls to spare.
Earlier in the match, Kuldeep Yadav made a significant impact with two crucial wickets in the middle overs, restricting New Zealand to a total of 208-6 on a conducive batting pitch. Rachin Ravindra (44 off 26) and captain Mitchell Santner (47 not out off 27) played pivotal roles in pushing New Zealand past the 200-run mark during different phases of the game.
Opting to bowl first due to expected heavy dew, Suryakumar made strategic changes to the lineup, bringing in Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav to replace the injured Axar Patel and rested Jasprit Bumrah. Devon Conway (19 off nine balls) and Tim Seifert (24 off 13) gave the Black Caps a brisk start, but both fell quickly to leave New Zealand in a precarious position.
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.
Key Stats:
– 21: Balls taken by Ishan Kishan to score his half-century—the fastest by an Indian against New Zealand.
– 1: Number of half-centuries for Suryakumar Yadav since October 2024 (27 matches).
– 100: T20Is played by India at home.
– 208-6: New Zealand’s highest-ever T20I total against India, surpassing their previous best of 196-2 at Rajkot in 2017.
– 0: Half-centurions in NZ’s innings—this marks their highest T20I total without an individual fifty.
– 126: Matches played by Hardik Pandya to become India’s second-most capped T20I player, surpassing Virat Kohli (125) and now only trailing Rohit Sharma (159).