LUCKNOW: It was a nervous chase for India. Even in-form batter Suryakumar Yadav had put aside his usual flashy side and was forced to operate with caution. But thanks to him, the home side posted a vital win.
India won the second T20I against New Zealand in Lucknow by six wickets and just a ball to spare. Suryakumar finished with an unbeaten 26 off 31 balls. With 3 runs required of the last two balls, it was a tricky phase for the Indian batters in the middle.
Blair Tickner was sticking to plan and bowling with plenty of discipline. Suryakumar had faced a dot ball in the second ball of the last over. Hardik Partner, his partner at the other end, was also finding it hard and had also risked his wicket while taking a single that was not there for the taking in the fourth delivery of that particular over.
The situation was tense for the home camp. Suryakumar’s boundary, just over mif-off, in the end brought a huge sigh of relief for the home fans. Suryakumar was adjudged Player of the Match for his crucial knock.
Earlier, Indian spinners impressed on a rank turner to limit a self-destructing New Zealand to 99 for eight, their lowest total against the hosts.
Wrist spinners Kuldeep Chahal (1/17) and Yuzvendra Chahal (1/4) extracted a lot out of the Lucknow surface while finger spinner Washington Sundar (1/17) produced another tidy spell. Pacer Arshdeep Singh did well to take wickets in his two tough overs and conceded only eight runs.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 99/8 (Santer 19 n.o, Chapman 14, Bracewell 14; Arshdeep 2/7) lost to India 101/4 (Suryakumar 26 n.o, Ishan 19).