In a thrilling match that went down to the wire, India beat New Zealand by 6 wickets with two balls to spare in the 2nd T20I. Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav held their nerves in a tricky run-chase, helping India level the three-match T20I series 1-1.
New Zealand bat first on a dry surface
New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first on a dry surface. However, the Indian spinners ran through the top-order of the Kiwis, dismissing every batsman cheaply in the powerplay. Hardik Pandya used three spinners and introduced Arshdeep Singh in the latter half of the innings. The left-arm pacer returned with figures of 2/7 in two overs, helping restrict New Zealand to 99 in 20 overs.
Middle-order stands firm in run-chase
In response, the Indian top-order got off to starts but were not able to convert as they lost the top three batsmen for 50 runs. The duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Washington Sundar withstood the spin threat in the middle overs. However, a mix-up in the 15th over led to Washington Sundar’s run-out, leaving India in trouble with 70/4 and 30 runs needed in the last five overs. Mitchell Santner put on a squeeze with spinners as he introduced the fifth bowler, Chapman. Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav played with caution and patience to complete the tricky chase in the last over and level the series 1-1.
Stats and Numbers from the 2nd T20I
- Hardik Pandya completed 150 wickets across formats.
- Mitchell Santner became the first New Zealand bowler to achieve the feat of 500 runs and 50 wickets in T20Is.
- New Zealand bowled 17 overs of spin in the 2nd T20I, the third most overs bowled by spinners in a T20I match.
- India and New Zealand didn’t hit a single six in the entire T20I played in Lucknow, marking the first such instance in a T20I played in India.
- This match saw 239 balls being played without a single six being hit, the most among full member nations.
- Yuzvendra Chahal became the leading wicket-taker for India in T20Is, surpassing Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s tally of 90 wickets.
- New Zealand were bundled out for just 99 runs in the 2nd T20I, the lowest total for the Kiwis against India in T20Is.
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