Second T20I: India seal series with facile win

Ranchi: Skipper Rohit Sharma and his deputy K L Rahul stitched an enterprising century-plus opening stand to power India to a comfortable seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second T20 International and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on Friday.

Chasing a modest 154 under heavy dew condition, the Indian captain and vice-captain started off in contrasting styles en route to their respective half-centuries.

Quiet at start, Rohit stepped up in the middle overs smashing five sixes and one four en route to his 36-ball 55.

Rahul started off in a brisk fashion, and top-scored with 65 from 49 balls with two sixes and six fours in an 117-run opening stand that virtually sealed the chase.

The Indian skipper is now involved in the most century-plus stands (13), overtaking 12 by Babar Azam and Martin Guptill.

The duo got out in the space of 13 balls but by then India needed just 19 off 27 balls and Rishabh Pant sealed the issue with a straight six over Jimmy Neesham's head in the 18th over to take India home with 16 balls to spare.

The third and final T20I is scheduled to be played at the  Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

 

Earlier, India rode on a tight bowling display by the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel to stymie New Zealand's explosive start and restrict the visitors to a modest 153/6.

In a must-win match for the Kiwis, Martin Guptill (31 off 15 balls) and Daryl Mitchell (31 off 28 balls) took the Indian pacers to the cleaners after being put in to bat.

Cruising at 64/1  in the powerplay, the Kiwis suddenly hit a roadblock in the crucial middle overs and managed just 64 runs from 7 to 16 overs with Ashwin (1/19) and Axar (1/26) dominating the New Zealand batters in the dew-laden condition.

Rohit cleverly used Ashwin and Axar in the middle overs to restrict the run flow.

Ashwin was simply sensational with his variations as the New Zealand batters found it difficult to go after him.

Axar got the wicket of Mark Chapman, fresh from a half-century in Jaipur, as the left-hander failed to clear the long-on boundary.

The duo's remarkable effort in the middle gave the pace attack some respite and newcomer Harshal Patel, who made his T20I debut four days shy of his 31st birthday, returned impressive figures of 2/25.

Two days after his tidy display in Jaipur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 37 runs from his first three but made it up in his final over, giving away just two runs and also took the vital wicket of Jimmy Neesham that further pegged the Kiwis back.