India clinched their second win on the trot, decimating Kiwis by 7 wickets. Opener KL Rahul (57 off 50) and Shreyas Iyer's (44 off 33) blistering knocks helped India chase down the target with 15 balls to spare. India’s top-class bowling also guided India to victory. With this win, India takes the series lead (2-0), leaving Black Caps empty-handed for the second time at Eden Park.
India entered this contest oozing with confidence and reasserted their dominance. It turned out to be a perfect gift for Indian cricket fans on the occasion of 71st Republic Day.
India's excellent fielding gave Kiwi batters a hard time
Indian bowlers displayed stellar performance as they managed to restrict the hosts under par total of 132 for 5. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja led the bowling attack and succeeded in putting brakes on the scoring rate. Shami and Bumrah were brilliant during the death overs. Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, and Shivam Dube scalped 1 wicket each.
India's batsmen were in rhythm
It was an uphill task for Kiwis to smash Indian batters as the latter replicated their heroics in this match as well. Opener Rohit Sharma (8 off 6) and skipper Virat Kohli (11 off 12) failed miserably in this match as they returned to pavilion early. However, opener K L Rahul and Shreyas Iyer hogged limelight with their exceptional knocks, taking India close to winning line.
Kiwis struggle with the bat
New Zealand chose to bat first and opted to bat first. Kiwis were off to torrid start as they lost their openers namely M. Guptill (33 off 20 deliveries) and C. Munro (26 off 25 balls) early. Skipper Kane Williamson failed to make an impact as he got dismissed after scoring 14 runs off 20. Tim Seifert played a gritty knock at the death but New Zealand struggled to time the ball right on a slow Eden Park wicket.
Kiwis will be geared up to seek redemption in the next match after drubbing twice in this series. The third T20I will take place on 29 Jan at 12:30 PM IST at Seddon Park.
