Ishan Kishan Suryakumar yadav makes it happen for himself and for India
Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in particular illustrated how the game of T20 should be played in this era. Kishan scored 76 off 32 balls and Suryakumar was unbeaten on 82 off 37 balls to propel India chase down New Zealand’s total of 209 in only 15.2 overs at Raipur in the second T20I as he went past by Kishan. India at 6 for 2 after 1.1 overs made their joint-highest successful chase in T20Is and did so with seven wickets to spare.
New Zealand also had sprung from the gate after being sent in on a dewy evening. Although only one of the top five passed 25, each of them struck at more than 140. India briefly rallied in the middle overs but Mitchell Santner’s unbeaten 47 off 27 balls propelled them to 208 for six. “We probably needed 300,” Santner said at the post-match presentation. He was only half-joking. Ishan Kishan Suryakumar Yadav
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma could only gather six runs in total. It would have been nought but for Conway flooring Samson at deep square leg off Matt Henry and palming the ball over the rope. Samson, however, couldn’t make the most of the escape and was caught at mid-on in the very next over. Abhishek fell after the first ball when he flicked Jacob Duffy to deep square leg. This time, Conway did not slip up.
At that juncture New Zealand were odds on. But Kishan had other ideas. He struck three fours and a six off Zak Foulkes in the third over, which also contained three wides and a no-ball. There was no looking back. Kishan raised his fifty in only 21 balls, surpassing Abhishek’s fastest T20I fifty by an India batter against New Zealand from the first T20I by one ball. At the end of the powerplay, India were sitting pretty on 75 for 2.
Added to it was the fact that both Santner and Ish Sodhi were turning the ball into the left-hand batter, again something that Kishan wasn’t going to mind. He had a six against each of them. Sodhi drew a miscue in the tenth over but by that stage, the required rate had been shaved down to 7.36.
Suryakumar back among the runs
All through his wretched batting form last year, Suryakumar insisted that he was not out of nick, just out of runs. In this match, he found them too. There were signs in the first T20I when he struck 32 off 22, and here he looked close to his best. With Kishan going berserk, he initially saw little of the strike, but that also allowed him time to settle. He was on a run-a-ball 10 before sweeping Santner over short fine leg for four in the eighth over.
From there, the runs flowed freely. In the next over, he hammered four fours and a six off Foulkes. Even after Kishan’s dismissal, he ensured the scoring rate never dipped. He brought up his fifty – his first in 24 T20I innings – off just 23 balls, finding boundaries not only behind the wicket and on the leg side but also through the off side. Fortune smiled on him as well: Mark Chapman parried a tough chance over the boundary when he was on 43, Santner spilled a sitter on 64, and a leading edge on 70 narrowly missed backward point. But perhaps he was due some luck. Alongside Shivam Dube, who finished with an unbeaten 36 off 18 balls, he steered India to a 2-0 series lead. Ishan Kishan Suryakumar YadavIshan Kishan Suryakumar Yadav
New Zealand’s blazing start
Devon Conway got off to a flying start, taking Arshdeep Singh to the cleaners. With the ball swinging away from him, he went after the off side, smashing three fours and a six in an 18-run opening over. Arshdeep’s second over was no better, also costing 18, with Tim Seifert doing the damage this time by striking four consecutive fours.
Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy then applied the brakes briefly. Rana outfoxed Conway with a slower ball, having him caught at mid-off in a wicket-maiden. It was the fourth time on the tour that Rana had dismissed Conway, each occasion coming from around the wicket. Ishan Kishan Suryakumar Yadav
At the other end, Varun induced a skier from Seifert, and Kishan held on to a fine steepler while back-pedalling from short midwicket. But Ravindra tore into Rana in the final over of the powerplay, launching two slower balls out of the park and picking up a four in between to propel New Zealand to 64 for 2 after six overs.
Middle-overs slowdown costs New Zealand
Ravindra continued the assault against Varun, clouting the spinner for two sixes in the eighth over. Glenn Phillips then took the attack to Kuldeep Yadav in the next over, collecting a six and two fours off the first four deliveries before miscuing a wrong ’un to be caught at backward point. Even so, New Zealand stayed on top, reaching 111 for 3 at the halfway stage. Ishan Kishan Suryakumar YadavIshan Kishan Suryakumar Yadav
India struck back strongly after the drinks break, picking up the wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Ravindra in successive overs. Dube accounted for Mitchell with a well-disguised slower ball, while Kuldeep had Ravindra edging a wide delivery to short third. The double blow meant New Zealand could muster only 41 runs in the six overs starting from the 12th. Ishan Kishan Suryakumar YadavIshan Kishan Suryakumar Yadav
Santner then provided a late surge in the death overs, hammering four fours and a six. Foulkes chipped in with a useful cameo of 15 not out off eight balls as New Zealand added 47 in the final three overs. They did cross the 200 mark, but the slowdown through the middle overs ultimately cost them a truly competitive total.
