Majestic.
Elegant.
Brutal.
Fiery.
We can use any and all adjectives we want, but none of them will be able to justify the kind of innings Suryakumar Yadav played at Bay Oval vs New Zealand in the 2nd T20I.
Powered by Sky's nuclear innings off 111 off 51 balls, India put up a massive total of 191 on board. Pant and Kishan started on a sedate note, and the former got out after a rusty knock of 6(12). Kishan laboured his way to 36(31) before Sodhi sent him packing.
After that, it was all Suryakumar Yadav. India's number 3 for the match struck seven sixes and 11 boundaries on his way to 111 and New Zealand had no clue what had hit them. The total could have been a lot more if Sky would have been on strike in the last over. Southee bowled a great last over, kept Sky off strike, and took a hattrick, dismissing, Pandya, Hooda, and Sundar consecutively.
What made Sky's innings even more majestic was the fact that none of the batters from both sides could get going as the pitch had something in it for the bowlers. But then, there was Sky who looked like playing on a completely different surface.
Chasing 192, NZ got off to a poor start as Bhuvneshwar sent Allen packing on the very 2nd ball of the match. The Kiwis recovered a bit before Sundar sent Conway packing at the 8.1-over mark. New Zealand then kept losing regular wickets, and Williamson stayed stuck at one end. The run-rate climbed steeply, and in the end, the chase proved to be a little too much for the Black Caps as India clinched the 2nd T20I by a big margin of 65 runs.
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The teams will next meet on November 22 at McLean Park, Napier for the 3rd and final T20I.
