2nd T20I: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma combine to help India beat New Zealand by 7 wickets

Team India openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma made their presence felt with sensational half-centuries to help the hosts pull off a triumph by a margin of seven wickets in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series. Rahul accumulated 65 runs off 49 deliveries in an innings comprising of six boundaries and two sixes. Rohit smashed 55 runs from 36 balls with the knock including a four and five maximums. Venkatesh Iyer and Rishabh Pant remained unbeaten till the end, helping the Indian team pull off a fine triumph. Suryakumar Yadav had an off day with the bat, having been dismissed for 1 by Tim Southee. Southee was the pick of the bowlers, accounting for three dismissals.

Glenn Phillips was the top run-getter for New Zealand, accumulating 34 runs from 21 deliveries. Phillips’ knock included a boundary and three sixes. Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell were the next top run-scorers, smashing 31 runs apiece off 15 and 28 balls respectively. The performances of these players were the only significant knocks with the bat for New Zealand, helping them post a total of 153 runs for the loss of six wickets. Harshal Patel was the pick of the bowlers, accounting for two dismisssals. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin chipped in with a wicket apiece.

“Good effort from the boys”

Team India skipper Rohit won the toss and opted to field.

“We are going to field first. We have seen it here, it’s a nice option to go with. Considering the dew factor, it’s good to chase in Ranchi. It was a good effort from the boys. It was a good learning for them as they finished the game, it was a good positive to have from that game. The game is such that you need some energy and experience. We have youngsters who want to express themselves, it’s a good setup, it’s important moving forward. We have one forced change, Siraj injured his finger in the first game, so Harshal comes in,” he said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Tim Southee admitted that he would have looked to field as well.

“We would have bowled first, taking the dew into consideration, but there’s going to be dew right throughout the game. It’s always about trying to improve, so we had to keep fighting and take the game deep in the first match. We have to focus on the positives. We’ll have to deal with the dew, no point of using it as an excuse, we just need to find a way to put up a good performance. We have three changes. Milne, Neesham and Sodhi are back for Ferguson, Rachin Ravindra and Astle,” stated Southee.

Lineups:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert(w), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee(c), Adam Milne, Trent Boult.

India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel.