In the second T20I match of the India tour of New Zealand 2022, India defeated New Zealand by 65 runs at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
The New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and asked India to bat first. Although at this venue, none of the chasing sides managed to win the game in the previous nine T20I, Williamson still decided to take that challenge considering the weather and the fact that the pitch was having a tinge of grass on. Both the opening batters, Ishan Kishan (26) and Rishabh Pant (6) were looking good but the latter lost his wicket pretty soon in the innings. It was then Suryakumar Yadav (111*), who played an outstanding knock on this damp wicket and took the Men in Blue to an above-par score. Suryakumar scored a magnificent ton at a strike rate of 217.65. In his knock, the right-handed batter smashed 11 fours and seven sixes to take India to a score of 191/6 in 20 overs. Towards the end, the away team also got some quick useful runs from Shreyas Iyer (13) and Hardik Pandya (13).
While chasing, the Kiwis looked in no mood to attack the Indian bowlers as mainly all of them lost their wickets cheaply. Apart from Devon Conway (25), none of the batters looked in fine touch. Although the Kiwi captain, Williamson (61) got some runs under his belt, it never helped the team to reach anywhere near the target. The home team got bundled out for just 126 runs in 18.5 overs.
Deepak Hooda was the most prominent bowler of the evening as he scalped four wickets in just 2.5 overs. Along with him, Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh also claimed two wickets each. One wicket each were also picked by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Washington Sundar.
On the other hand, for New Zealand, Tim Southee picked a hat trick. Lockie Ferguson bagged two wickets and with him, Ish Sodhi also managed to get one wicket.
Suryakumar Yadav was adjudged Man of the Match for his electrifying century at the Bay Oval. With this win, India are 1-0 ahead in the three-match T20I series and will look to seal the shortest format of the game in the final match.
Scorecard:
India: 191/6, Overs 20, Suryakumar Yadav 111*, Tim Southee 3/34
New Zealand: 126/10, Overs 18.5, Kane Williamson 61, Deepak Hooda 4/10