In a display of authority just a fortnight ahead of the T20 World Cup, India pulled off their joint-highest successful T20I run chase to defeat New Zealand by seven wickets. Chasing a formidable 209, India recovered from a disastrous 6/2 to hunt down the target in just 15.2 overs, leaving the capacity crowd at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in awe.
The chase began in nightmare fashion as New Zealand’s Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy dismissed India’s prolific openers, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, within the first 7 balls.
Abhishek Sharma: Dismissed for a first-ball duck; only his second in 34 innings.
The counter-attack: Unfazed by the crisis, Ishan Kishan initiated a fire, improving the record for the fastest T20I fifty by an Indian against NZ to just 21 balls. By the end of the Powerplay, India had rocketed to 75/2.
Kishan and Suryakumar shared a 122-run stand in just 49 deliveries. Their assault spared no one, but pacer Zak Foulkes suffered the most, conceding 67 runs in his 3 overs.
Tonight wasn't about form; it was about finding runs. I've been batting well in the nets, and today it all clicked.
Suryakumar Yadav
Earlier, the Black Caps started like a house on fire, with Devon Conway (19 off 9) and Tim Seifert (24 off 13) plucking 36 runs off Arshdeep Singh’s first two overs. However, India’s spinners, led by a revitalized Kuldeep Yadav, applied the brakes.
Despite a late surge from skipper Mitchell Santner (47* off 27) that took them past 200, the Kiwis managed only 41 runs in the six-over block starting from the 12th over; a slowdown that proved fatal.
New Zealand: 208/6 in 20 overs (Santner 47*, Ravindra 44; Kuldeep 2/35)
India: 211/3 in 15.2 overs (Suryakumar 82*, Kishan 76; Duffy 1/38)
Result: India won by 7 wickets (Lead series 2-0)
