NZ vs IND 2022: Hits and flops as India record a plain sailing win over hosts in first T20I
Courtesy of a splendid knock by Suryakumar Yadav, Team India recorded a comprehensive win over hosts New Zealand by 65 runs in the second T20I of the three-match series. The game took place at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, 20 November.
With the win, India, under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, now lead the series 1-0 with the last match scheduled to be played in Napier on Tuesday (22 November).
After being asked to bat first, India rode on Suryakumar's sumptuous innings of 111* from 51 balls and posted a daunting total of 191/6. Not one area of the ground was left unpicked as the in-form Mumbai batsman oozed elegance and dominance from the word go.
He paced his innings to perfection, scoring 11 runs from his first 10 balls before going ballistic and scoring 50+ runs in the death overs.
Easy for India 🏏
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In response, New Zealand's innings never got going as they were skittled out for 126. An all-round effort from the Indian bowlers made life difficult for the hosts as spinners took seven of the 10 wickets while the pacers took the remaining three.
To complete the review of the match, let's take a look at the hits and flops of the second T20I between India and New Zealand.
#1 Flop - Rishabh Pant
After his failures while batting in the middle-order for India, Rishabh Pant was handed a golden opportunity to stake his claim for the top of the order. Opening alongside Ishan Kishan, Pant was given the task of providing India with a rapid start.
While Kishan looked good during his 31, Pant seemed scratchy. After whipping a boundary to get off the mark in the first over, the Delhi keeper-batsman was tentative and scored his next two runs in 10 balls.
His 13-ball stay for 6 runs came to an end during the sixth over when he holed out at the short third man.
#2 Hit - Tim Southee
On a day when not much went well for the New Zealand players, Tim Southee came out as the best Kiwi bowler.
Barring the 17th over of the Indian innings, Southee was precise in his lines and lengths. The experienced campaigner started the innings with two decent overs with the new ball.
🏻
Tim Southee played his role well👏🏻
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While Suryakumar Yadav showcased his class and picked the bones out of Southee's slower balls, the right-armer came back strong in the final over. The right-arm pacer scripted history as he picked up his second T20I hat-trick in the 20th over, sending back Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, and Washington Sundar.
Southee's economy of 8.5 was the best by any Kiwi bowler and the 33-year-old finished the game with figures of 3/34.
#3 Flop - New Zealand's batting unit
The fact that no international team had ever won a T20I game while chasing at the Bay Oval meant that it was always going to be an arduous task for the Kiwi batters to go all the way. However, things went very bad for them as the Indian bowling attack bundled them out for 126 in 18.5 overs.
A successful first over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, where he got rid of Finn Allen, set the tone for the visitors. However, a 56-run partnership between Devon Conway and Kane Williamson made sure the team didn't lose any more wickets in the next eight overs.
However, as soon as the partnership was broken by Washington Sundar in the ninth over, New Zealand began losing wickets at regular intervals. While credit must go to the Indian bowlers for being largely on the money, the Kiwi batters displayed very little application to stay at the crease.
The pressure of the required run-rate kept pushing the batters to try something different, leading them to lose nine wickets for just 70 runs.
The fact that only four New Zealand batters managed to breach the two-figure mark does paint a gloomy picture from a Kiwi fan perspective.
#4 Hit - Suryakumar Yadav
Who could've been the number one hit of the match other than the centurion himself, Suryakumar Yadav? The Mumbai lad gave a 360-degree masterclass en route his marvelous ton, scoring 111* off just 51 balls.
In a stunning display of brutal yet effortless batting, Suryakumar clobbered 11 boundaries and seven lusty maximums. Manoeuvring himself according to the fielders, the 32-year-old displayed exquisite and well-crafted strokeplay and single-handedly made the difference in the game.
Suryakumar Yadav was named the “Man of the match” for his spectacular century against New Zealand 🫡🔥
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Suryakumar's 111* is now the highest individual score by an Indian batter against New Zealand in T20Is. He cut, pulled, flicked, and swept the Kiwi bowlers to perfection.
Moreover, given that Suryakumar struck at 217 while the rest of the batters from both sides barely managed to go at run-a-ball, it shows how well he asserted his dominance in the innings.