IND vs NZ: 2nd T20I Review – India win the slow-burner thriller in Lucknow
India drew level in the three-match series after prevailing in a nail-biting thriller against New Zealand at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Suryakumar Yadav hit the winning runs for the Men in Blue on the penultimate delivery of the match.
Suryakumar-Hardik seal India’s win
Although India were chasing a modest total, the openers were watchful against the New Zealand spinners, who were disciplined with their line and lengths on a rank turner. Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tripathi tried consolidating but failed to push on. Washington Sundar, who was looking good at the crease, had to sacrifice his wicket after a mix-up with Suryakumar Yadav.
But the experience of Suryakumar and Hardik Pandya did the trick as the former hit the winning runs for India on the penultimate delivery of the match. New Zealand did marvellously take the match to the last over despite defending a below-par score.
New Zealand finish on 99
The Kiwis, led by Mitchell Santner, batted first with hopes of sealing the series in the decisive encounter. The visitors made a decent start to the innings but could not capitalize on it. It was a trial by spin for the Blackcaps as the Indian spinner took complete control of the innings. Things went downhill from there as the visitors slumped to 48/4 midway through the first innings. The pitch had a tremendous amount of turn on offer for the slower bowlers, and Hardik Pandya took full advantage by incorporating the spinners in the innings.
Arshdeep Singh came to bowl his first over after 17 overs in the match. However, the left-arm pacer made up for the lost time by picking up two wickets in his first over. He closed out the innings with a brilliant final over as New Zealand could manage only a paltry 99 after their 20 overs.
Top Performers of the match
Suryakumar Yadav
The Indian batting ace did not have the best of time with the bat and looked sluggish throughout his innings, missing out on a couple of juicy full tosses in a low-scoring affair. However, he did enough in the hand to help his side level the series in a tense finale.
Arshdeep Singh
The young Indian bolter had to wait for his turn with the ball in the second T20I as skipper Hardik Pandya persisted with the slower bowlers until the 17th over. Arshdeep was handed the ball for the 18th over and he repaid the trust shown by his skipper after scalping two wickets.
What’s next for both sides?
Both sides will be back in action in the T20I series decider that takes place in Ahmedabad on February 1.
