The Indian team bounced back in fashionable style to overcome the heavy defeat in Wellington, to winning their first T20I match on New Zealand soil and making the third and final clash much more exhilarating. The Men in Blue displayed an all-round dominant performance to win the 2nd T20I by 7 wickets, levelling the series 1-1. (Match Highlights)
The seven-wicket triumph was set up by skipper Rohit Sharma (50 off 29 balls) in company of Shikhar Dhawan (30, 31 balls) with a 79-run stand after Krunal Pandya got three wickets to restrict the hosts to 158/8. (Match Scorecard)
With his whirlwind fifty, Rohit also became the top run-getter in the format, surpassing Martin Guptill.
Rohit was quite pleased with the performance the players put up in Auckland and felt that they learnt from the mistakes in Wellington.
"Very pleased to see how we bowled, and we were quite clinical with the bat as well. We have quality in our side, but we executed our plans better today, after learning from our mistakes. It's important to understand the mistakes that we made," said Rohit in the post-match presentation.
Dhoni, the original master finisher couldn't have been happier as he saw Pant control what could have been a tricky 159-run chase chase with an unbeaten 40 off 28 balls.
"it's been a long tour for everyone. So we didn't want to put a lot of pressure on the boys, just go in there with a clear mind," said Rohit.
It was a much-improved performance by the Indian bowlers with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/29 in 4 overs) removing Tim Seifert (12) in the very third over with a fuller delivery, inducing an inside edge to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps.
However, it was Krunal, who really applied the brakes after being brought inside the Powerplay overs.
The elder Pandya quickly found the ideal length, bowling his usual wicket to wicket deliveries with a flatter trajectory.
With the series level, Rohit is excited and all geared up for the final clash in Hamilton.
"It's going to be a cracker of a game in the 3rd T20I, but nothing to take away from New Zealand, they're still a quality side," concluded Rohit.
Rohit broke a slew of records during the 2nd T20I. En route his 16th half-century, Rohit surpassed Kiwi opener Martin Guptill to become the highest run-scorer in T20Is in the world.
Along with this he also broke the record of most boundaries in a T20I career by beating the latter who had till date hit 203 fours and sixes. He now has 20 fifty-plus scores in T20Is beating the world leader Virat Kohli who had 19 till now.
The third and final clash will be played February 10 in Hamilton.
(With PTI Inputs)
