India went 2-0 up in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. After the ODI series defeat against the same opponent and ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, India will welcome the new-found and explosive form displayed by the batters in Raipur.
Chasing 208, it was not a day for the usual Abhishek Sharma fireworks. The two openers fell in the first two overs. Ishan Kishan, who got a rare entry into the playing XI in the absence of Tilak Varma, scored an impressive 76 (32 balls), consisting of four sixes and 11 fours. Ishan and Suryakumar Yadav stitched a 122-run (49 balls) partnership, throwing the Kiwi bowlers off the track. After Kishan top-edged a delivery from Matt Henry, it was the skipper alongside Shivam Dube who continued the exploits.
SKY and Dube shared an explosive 81 (37 balls) partnership. The two made sure India cruised past the finish line. The captain scored 82* (37 balls), an innings that included four sixes and nine fours. Dube remained unbeaten and kept the skipper company with 36 (18 balls).
India made a mockery of the chase as they cruised home with 28 balls to spare. They would be happy with the effort of SKY, who brought up a half-century for the first time in 23 innings in this format.
Both teams stepped into the contest with changes in their XI. India brought in Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav in place of Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel. New Zealand added Tim Seifert, Matt Henry and Zak Foulkes to their XI. Devon Conway and Seifert started well and posted 43 runs in the first three overs.
Rana took the first wicket, dismissing Conway 19 (9 balls), before Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Seifert 24 (13 balls) in the next over. All-rounder Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips stitched a 55-run partnership. The dangerous Daryl Mitchell, sent up the order at No. 5, scored 18 (11). As Ravindra went on to accumulate runs, it was captain Santner who played a crucial knock, scoring 47 runs in 27 balls. It ensured New Zealand put 208 runs on the scoreboard.
Indian bowlers did not have the best outing with Arshdeep Singh conceding 53 runs. Hardik Pandya ended the day with figures of 1/25, Rana picked up a single wicket and gave away 35 runs. Kuldeep and Varun bowled four apiece with an identical economy of 8.75, while picking up two and one wicket, respectively.
