IND vs NZ 2nd T20I: After Pandya power, Rohit, Pant guide India to level series

Rohit Sharma surpassed Virat Kohli’s record of most 50-plus scores in the shortest format of the game. Kohli has nineteen 50-plus scores in T20Is while Rohit now has 20 under his belt

Krunal Pandya's terrific bowling followed by Rohit Sharma’s 16^th half-century & Rishabh Pant's cameo acted as the guiding light for the Indians as they easily levelled the series 1-1 in Auckland on Friday. After restricting the hosts for 158/8, India chased down the modest total with 7 wickets in hand and as many balls to spare.

The Indians made a terrific comeback on the field, excelling in all the departments at the Eden Park. Firstly, the bowlers dominated and then the batters left no stone unturned in punishing the Kiwi bowling attack.

In reply to New Zealand’s 158, Indian openers – Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma - provided a flying start to the innings as they kept thrashing the Kiwi bowlers for the first 10 overs. The duo added 50 runs in the powerplay and then, skipper Rohit Sharma brought up his 16^th T20I fifty in the 9^th over.

With this feat, Rohit Sharma not only became the highest run-scorer of this format but also surpassed Virat Kohli’s record of most 50-plus scores in the shortest format of the game. Kohli has nineteen 50-plus scores in T20Is while Rohit now has 20 under his belt.

But before Rohit could take his hitting further, he was hunted down by Tim Southee in the 10^th over and he ended up scoring 50 off 29 deliveries, including three fours and four sixes.

In the next over, Lockie Ferguson sent Dhawan (30) packing and India were reduced to 882 while the responsibility of the run chase came on the shoulders of Vijay Shankar and Rishabh Pant.

They continued the momentum and tried anchoring the innings, stitching a 30-run stand for the third wicket before Shankar (14) lost his wicket to Daryl Mitchell while attempting an aerial shot. His dismissal allowed MS Dhoni to assist Pant who was making the job tough for the Kiwis.

After a series of failures, Pant made an outstanding cameo with the bat as he batted till the end and scored 40 unbeaten. With one run needed to win, Pant hit the winning four to finish the game in style.

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Earlier, opting to bat, New Zealand started the proceedings cautiously but in the third over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up Tim Seifert (12), who was the top scorer in the last match.

Colin Munro (12) and Kane Williamson (20) then joined and started playing shots. While trying to increase the scoring rate, Munro was dismissed by spinner Krunal Pandya in the sixth over. In the same over Krunal dismissed Daryl Mitchell (1).

However, Colin de Grandhomme's brilliant half-century and Ross Taylor's disciplined innings helped New Zealand post 158/8 against India in the second Twenty20 International match here on Friday.

For India, Krunal scalped three wickets while Khaleel Ahmed picked up two.