Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav put India 2-0 up

Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav hit sparkling fifties to make a mockery of a 200-plus run chase against New Zealand, securing a 2-0 lead in the T20I series. India's batters showcased their prowess, hunting down a target of 209 with ease.

The chase began poorly with the loss of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma within the first seven deliveries. However, Ishan Kishan, seizing his opportunity, went berserk. He tore into Zakary Foulkes and hit Mitchell Santner for a hat-trick of boundaries. Matt Henry was ripped apart in the final over of the powerplay as Ishan brought up a stunning 21-ball half-century.

Post the powerplay, Ishan continued his assault, hitting sixes off Ish Sodhi and Santner before Suryakumar Yadav joined the party. The Indian skipper gave Foulkes a forgettable outing, carting him for 25 runs in an over. A top edge finally ended Ishan's carnage at 76, but Suryakumar continued to sizzle, passing fifty in T20Is for the first time in over a year. Shivam Dube soon got into the act, and the required run rate dipped below six by the 12th over. India completed the chase with 28 balls to spare.

Earlier, New Zealand's innings began explosively. Devon Conway took down Arshdeep Singh for 18 runs in the first over, and Tim Seifert added to the pressure with four straight boundaries. Racing to 43/0 in three overs, New Zealand then stumbled, making only 21 in the next three. Harshit Rana bowled a wicket-maiden and Varun Chakaravarthy struck to peg them back.

Rachin Ravindra revived the innings with a six-hitting spree, and Glenn Phillips started rampantly at the other end. However, India struck at regular intervals. Kuldeep Yadav removed Phillips, and Shivam Dube's golden arm accounted for the in-form Daryl Mitchell. Kuldeep returned to dismiss a well-set Ravindra. After a few quiet overs, Mitchell Santner took charge, attacking Rana and Hardik Pandya before Zakary Foulkes finished the innings with a six and a four, pushing New Zealand past 200—a total India surpassed with 34 balls to spare, highlighting the gulf in class.

Brief scores: New Zealand 208/6 in 20 overs (Mitchell Santner 47*, Rachin Ravindra 44; Kuldeep Yadav 2/35) lost to India 209/3 in 15.2 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 82*, Ishan Kishan 76) by 7 wickets.