MOUNT MAUNGANUI: Top-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering century propelled India to seal an emphatic 65-run victory over New Zealand in the second T20I of the three-match series, here on Sunday.
India, batting first, on the invitation of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, posted a mammoth 191/6 in their quota of 20 overs, thanks to a quickfire century from Yadav.
Earlier, Indian openers – Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan – failed to provide their side with a solid start as New Zealand managed to get their first breakthrough in the sixth over as the former perished after a struggling 13-ball six.
India were 36/1 when Yadav came out to bat and courtesy of his magnificent striking turned things around for his side.
The right-handed batter stitched an anchoring 33-run partnership with Kishan, who fell after scoring 36 off 31 deliveries as India lost their second wicket inside 10 overs at a combined score of 69.
Yadav then joined hands with Shreyas Iyer and could add 39 runs for the third wicket before Iyer sustained a bizarre dismissal off Lockie Ferguson and walked out after scoring 13 off nine.
Following Iyer’s dismissal, Yadav charged on the Kiwi bowlers and set the scoreboard on fire with his fierce onslaught and added 82-run partnership with skipper Hardik Pandya.
Yadav was the core aggressor of India’s highest partnership of the match as Pandya could score a run-a-ball 13 before Tim Southee outdid him to take the first of his hat-trick.
The veteran pacer Southee then bagged two more wickets – Deepak Hooda (0) and Washington Sundar (0) – in consecutive deliveries to complete his second T20I hat-trick.
T20 hat-trick number two for Tim Southee! 😍 #NZvIND #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/p17wtD2228
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 20, 2022
Yadav, on the other hand, remained unbeaten with his astounding knock of 111 runs off just 51 deliveries, laced with 11 boundaries and five sixes.
Southee led the bowling attack for New Zealand with 3/34 in his four overs, while Ferguson bagged two wickets.
Set to chase 192, New Zealand’s batting lineup crumbled on a paltry 126 and thus handed a resounding victory 65-run victory to India.
The hosts had a poor start to their run chase as their hard-hitting opener Finn Allen fell for a two-ball duck.
Following the early slump, skipper Williamson and Devon Conway attempted to anchor the run chase with a gritty 56-run partnership for the second wicket.
The pair, however, conceded too many deliveries in the proceedings and thus left with no choice but to counter-attack the Indian bowlers.
Consequently, Conway looked to target Sundar and slogged a fuller delivery straight to fine leg to bring an end to his cautious 25-run knock.
Following his departure, New Zealand began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and were soon bundled out for a mere 126 in reply to India’s 191/6 despite Williamson’s half-century.
The right-handed batter top-scored for New Zealand with 61, laced with four boundaries and two sixes but was a touch too slow in the procedure.
The rest of the Kiwi batters, however, failed to make any impact with the bat as seven of them could not even make it to the double figures.
Hooda was the pick of the bowlers for India with 4/10, while Yuzvendra Chahal and Moahammed Siraj bagged two wickets each. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sundar, on the other hand, made one scalp each.
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