IND Vs NZ 2nd T20I: Team India Beat New Zealand In Riveting Clash To Level Series 1-1

Team India defeated New Zealand by 6 wickets in a nail-biting contest by 6 wickets in the second T20I at Ekana Sports City, Lucknow.  The Men in Blue team only had a target of 100 runs but had to wait till the second last ball of the innings.

Lucknow: Team India defeated New Zealand by 6 wickets in a nail-biting contest by 6 wickets in the second T20I at Ekana Sports City, Lucknow.  The Men in Blue team only had a target of 100 runs but had to wait till the second last ball of the innings.

Mitchell Santner won the toss and invited Hardik Pandya-led Team India to bowl first. However, their decision to bat first turned on them real soon. They lost their first four wickets by the 10th over itself on the score of 48.

Not even a single Kiwi batter could touch the 20-runs mark. Their skipper Santner was the highest run scorer for them with 19 runs. Arshdeep grabbed 2 wickets while Hardik, Kuldeep, Chahal, Hooda, and Sundar grabbed 1 wicket each. The Indian bowlers restricted NZ to the score of 99 at the loss of 8 wickets.

Team India didn’t have a huge target in front of them but NZ spinners never allowed them to be in a comfortable position. They lost Gill (11 runs) early in the fourth over. Ishan returned back too after scoring a slow 19 of 32 balls. Rahul Tripathi and Washington Sudar tried to join some runs but lost their wickets right when things were looking good for them.

Now Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya were on the pitch and they took the innings to the very end. They steadily progressed the scoreboard without taking much risks. Team India had to wait till the second last ball of the innings to reach the target.

The series is now leveled 1-1 and both teams would clash against each other in the third and final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Feb 1 to decide the winner of the T20I series.