NEW DELHI: Suryakumar Yadav (26 not out) and Hardik Pandya (15 not out) used all their experience to help India edged New Zealand by six wickets in a last-over thriller at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday. The duo held their nerves in the low-scoring contest as India levelled the three-match series 1-1 with a scrappy victory in the second Twenty20 International.
Chasing a small target of 100, India were left to score six off the last over to win the game, which turned to three off two balls. Suryakumar then slapped the penultimate ball over mid-off fielder to score his only boundary of the run chase and took the hosts home with a ball to spare.
As it happened: India vs New Zealand, 2nd T20I
It was uncharacteristic knocks from both Suryakumar (26* off 31 balls) and Hardik (15* off 20) as they stitched a match-winning 31 runs stand for the fifth wicket. Both hit just a four each in their innings.
It looked game over for the visitors at the break, when the Indian bowlers restricted them for a meagre 99 for 8 in 20 overs, their lowest ever total against the hosts in T20Is. But the Kiwis spinners took the game till the final over with some tight bowling, much like what India spinners did in the first innings.
Indian spinners revelled on a turning track. The trio of Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav impressed on a helping surface to limit a self-destructing New Zealand to 99 for eight.
It should have been a straight-forward run chase but the top-order comprising Ishan Kishan (19 off 32), Shubman Gill (11 off 9) and Rahul Tripathi (13 off 18) had a tough time again in spin-friendly conditions. In the end, Hardik and Suryakumar took the team over the line.
With the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not playing T20s since the World Cup last year, opportunities have been presented to the younger players who are yet to make them count.
Kishan has gone off the boil since his double hundred in Bangladesh while Gill has not been able to carry on his scintillating ODI form into T20s. The stylish right-hander fell while trying to pull a spinner for the second game in a row but was surprised by the amount of turn.
Tripathi, who is getting to play at number three in Kohli's absence, was unable to take the attack to the New Zealand spinners.
The Indians felt the pressure and that was evident with the run out of Washington Sundar, who sacrificed his wicket to ensure Surya's stay in the middle.
Since the asking rate was never an issue, India could afford to stutter in the chase.
A four after 45 balls, coming from Hardik's bat in the 19th over, released a lot of pressure before the skipper completed the job alongside Surya who hit the winning four.
Earlier, Hardik decided to employ spinners from both ends in the powerplay after opening the bowling himself.
Wrist spinners Kuldeep (1/17) and Chahal (1/4), playing in a T20 together after a while, extracted a lot out of the Lucknow surface while finger spinner Washington (1/17) produced another tidy spell.
Chahal was left licking his lips after the first ball of his opening spell. It was a ripper that pitched on leg stump before beating the outside edge of Finn Allen's bat. The opener perished two balls later trying to reverse sweep with the ball thudding into his back leg before crashing on to the stumps.
The in-form Devon Conway too fell to a reverse sweep as the ball kissed his gloves on way to wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan.
New Zealand were soon reduced to 35 for three in seventh over when the dangerous Glenn Phillips missed a straight ball from Deepak Hooda in his attempt to reverse sweep the part time off-spinner.
Daryl Mitchell got a beauty from Kuldeep that came back in sharply to shatter the stumps.
1/10:Spin rules as India level T20I series with tense win against New Zealand
PTI
2/10:India beat New Zealand
<p>India edged out New Zealand by six wickets in a low-scoring and tense second T20I, to level the series at 1-1 on Sunday. </p>PTI
3/10:Yuzvendra Chahal
<p>India restricted New Zealand to 99-8 with Yuzvendra Chahal leading the spin charge on a slow and turning pitch in Lucknow. </p>AFP
4/10:Kiwi bowlers
<p>India then lost regular wickets as the Kiwi bowlers took it into the final over.</p>PTI
5/10:India level series
<p>But Suryakumar Yadav, along with Hardik Pandya, anchored the tricky run chase to achieve the target with one ball to spare. </p>PTI
6/10:30 overs of spin
<p>The match witnessed 30 overs of spin without a six being hit in either innings. </p>PTI
7/10:Wicket maiden
<p>Chahal bowled the fourth over of the innings and started with a wicket maiden.</p>ANI
8/10:Arshdeep Singh
<p>Chahal bowled just two overs for four runs and a wicket but it set the tone for his fellow bowlers, with Arshdeep Singh taking two. </p>AP
9/10:Finn Allen
<p>Finn Allen attempted to take on the Indian bowling with two straight boundaries in the third over but was bowled by Chahal as he tried a reverse sweep. </p>AP
10/10:Deepak Hooda
<p>Devon Conway was caught behind off Washington Sundar and then Glenn Phillips bowled by Deepak Hooda. </p>PTINew Zealand bat deep but none of their batters were able to apply themselves on a testing pitch.
Pacer Arshdeep Singh, who has been guilty of bowling too many no balls lately and Shivam Mavi, were only used in the death overs.
Arshdeep did well to take wickets in his two tough overs and conceded only eight runs. Hardik ended with figures of one for 25 in four overs.
The series decider will be played in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
(With inputs from PTI)
