Suryakumar Yadav hammered his second century in T20 internationals to power India to a massive victory by 65 runs over New Zealand in the second T20 match played at Mount Maunganui on Sunday. The first match of the series was washed out a few nights ago which means the victory gives India an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three match series, with the third match being played in Napier on Tuesday.
The No 1 T20 batsman Suryakumar Yadav smacked 111 not out to power India to a strong total of 191/6 in their 20 overs, and in the reply, New Zealand were blown away by the Indian bowlers with only Kane Williamson providing some resistance for the Kiwi side, which was bundled out for just 126 and 18.5 overs.
And if it was the beginning of Hardik Pandya’s captaincy era in Indian cricket in the shortest format, it was certainly a perfect start for the swashbuckling all-rounder whose side was all over New Zealand despite weather once again proving to be a hindrance after washing out the first match of the series.
It was New Zealand who won the toss and put India into bat and the way it all progressed, the Kiwis would certainly have regretted their decision. India wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan came out flying, hitting five boundaries to make 36 from just 31 balls including a 6 to provide his side with early momentum. Even though Rishabh Pant could not score beyond six from 13 balls, the limelight was stolen entirely by Suryakumar Yadav who was absolutely sensational on Sunday night.
Suryakumar Yadav hammered 11 boundaries and 7 sixes to make 111 not out from just 57 balls, displaying his batting abilities all around the park to produce one of the most sensational knocks seen in international T20 cricket in a long time.
New Zealand did not have a lot to celebrate in the game but their senior fast bowler Tim Southee took a hat-trick to peg India back and prevent them from going past the 200 run mark. The senior New Zealand fast bowler returned with 4-0-34-3, accounting for the likes of Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda (0) and Washington Sundar (0).
Suryakumar Yadav was single-handedly responsible for pushing India’s total closer to the 200 run mark as the second-best scorer in the innings was Ishan Kishan, who had scored the majority of his runs with Suryakumar Yadav had not even walked out to bat. The second best contributors in the scorecard for Indian war says Iyer and captain Hardik Pandya, both made 13 runs each.
The New Zealand team was expected to come out firing against the challenge which India had put up, but they had a game to forget with the bat as well. Despite Kane Williamson scoring 61 from 52 balls, hitting 4 boundaries and 2 sixes in the process, there was really no other Kiwi batsman who could challenge Indian bowlers. Devon Conway scored 25 from 22 balls which was the next best performance by a Kiwi batsmen on Sunday night.
New Zealand were bowled out for 126 courtesy a freak spell by Deepak Hooda, who returned with 2.5-0-10-4 to record his best figures in the format while the likes of Yuzvendra Chaha and Mohammed Siraj took a couple of wickets each. Among the other bowlers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Washington Sunder both claimed one wicket apiece.