On what India captain Hardik Pandya called a 'shocker of a wicket', Team India managed to pull off a 6 wicket win off their penultimate delivery of their innings against the visiting Kiwis on Sunday to level the 3 match T20I series at 1-1.
What that means is that there is everything to play for in the 3rd and final T20I of the series on Wednesday in Ahmedabad. The winner will take the series.
Over the years these two teams have had some very exciting T20I encounters.
Ahead of the crucial final game of the series, TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at some very interesting stats and trivia for India vs New Zealand in the shortest format of the game:
# India enjoy success % of 52.08 as against 47.91 by New Zealand. Of the 24 T20Is contested against each other, India have won thirteen and New Zealand ten. The Napier T20I, contested on November 22, 2022, resulted in a tie via DLS method.
# India had won the one-over eliminators in successive games after the same had tied - one each at Hamilton on January 29, 2020 and at Wellington on January 31, 2020.
# New Zealand's total of 219 for six at Wellington on February 6, 2019 is the highest innings total against India in T20Is.
# New Zealand's thrilling win by 1 run at Chennai on September 11, 2012 remains their narrowest victory margin against India in T20Is. Their triumph by 80 runs at Wellington on February 6, 2019 remains their biggest in terms of runs against India.
# India's 208 for six at Hamilton on February 10, 2019 is the highest innings total against New Zealand in T20Is.
# In the second T20I at Lucknow on January 29, 2023, New Zealand (99/8) recorded their lowest total vs India, outstripping the 111 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on November 21,2011.
# Suryakumar Yadav's strike rate of 151.16 while aggregating 260, including a hundred and a fifty, in 7 innings is the best by any Indian batter vs New Zealand in T20Is (min 150 runs).
# Suryakumar remains the only Indian batsman to post a century vs New Zealand in T20Is.
# Suryakumar's strike rate of 217.64 while scoring an unbeaten 111 off 51 balls at Mount Maunganui on November 20, 2022 is quite impressive.
# Rohit Sharma's tally of 511 runs at an average of 34.06, including six fifties, in 17 innings is the highest on either side in T20Is involving India and New Zealand.
# Tim Southee, with 134 wickets at 23.72 runs apiece in 107 matches, is the leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals.
# Ish Sodhi, with 24 wickets at 20.25 runs apiece in 19 matches is the leading wicket-taker on either side in T20Is involving the two countries.
# Tim Southee, with 20 wickets at 28.15 in 17 matches, has the next best tally.
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>PTI# India had lost the first five T20Is against New Zealand between 2007 and 2016.
# India's successive defeats were - by 10 runs at Johannesburg on 16-9-2007; by 7 wickets at Christchurch on 25-2-2009; by 5 wickets at Wellington on 27-2-2009; by 1 run at Chennai on 11-9-2012 and by 47 runs at Nagpur on 15-3-2016.
# Before their defeat by 8 wickets at Dubai on October 31, 2021, India had won five T20Is against New Zealand - all in 2020. India's wins were by 6 wickets at Auckland on 24-1-2020; by 7 wickets at Auckland on 26-1-20; by one-over eliminators at Hamilton on 29-1-20 & at Wellington on 31-1-20 & by 7 runs at Mount Maunganui on 2-2-20.
# New Zealand have won all three T20 World Cup fixtures against India - by 10 runs at Johannesburg on Sept 16, 2007, by 47 runs at Nagpur on March 15, 2016 and by 8 wickets at Dubai on October 31, 2021.
# India had defeated New Zealand by 5-0 in the bilateral series in 2019-20 in New Zealand - India's first clean sweep against an opponent by such a margin.
# Lokesh Rahul was adjudged the player of the series in 2019-20 in New Zealand - his only player of the series award.
# Rahul's aggregate of 224 (ave 56.00), including two fifties, in five innings at a strike rate of 144.51 in 2019-20 remains the highest on either side..
# Shardul Thakur's tally of 8 wickets at 19.62 runs apiece in five matches in 2019-20 remains the highest on either side in a bilateral series.
# Colin Munro's 109 not out off 58 balls at Rajkot on Nov.4, 2017 remains the only hundred by a Sri Lankan batter in T20Is.
# Both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored exactly 80 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on November 1, 2017.
# Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma put on a stand of 158 (first wicket) at Delhi on Nov 1, 2017 - India's highest partnership for any wicket against NZ in T20Is.
# 98 balls faced by Dhawan and Rohit in the aforesaid partnership is India's longest by any pair for any wicket against any opponent in Twenty20 Internationals.
# Dhawan/Rohit's 158-run stand was the first century stand for India vs NZ in T20Is.
# Mitchell Santer's career-best figures in T20 are the best by a NZ bowler in T20Is/T20 World Cup against India - 4 for 11 at Nagpur on 15-3-2016.
# Daniel Vettori's career-best figures of 4 for 20 in T20Is were also achieved against India in the T20WC
# Axar Patel's excellent figures of 3 for 9 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on November 21, 2021 were produced by him against New Zealand.
# Under Virat Kohli's captaincy, India have won six and lost two out of eight contested T20Is vs NZ - winning % 62.50 while five out of seven have been won under Rohit Sharma's captaincy - winning % 71.42.
# Ish Sodhi remains the only New Zealand bowler to produce three four-wicket hauls in T20Is - 4 for 28 vs Australia at Christchurch on February 22, 2021; 4 for 28 vs Bangladesh at Hamilton on March 28, 2021 and 4 for 28 vs Scotland at Edinburgh on July 27, 2022. (all three identical figures)
# Ten T20Is have been played between India and New Zealand in India. India have won six and lost four.
# India's five-wicket win over New Zealand at Jaipur on November 17, 2021 was their 50th in successful chases in T20Is - the first team to accomplish the feat.
Stats Courtesy: Rajesh Kumar
