India survived a spin scare and held their nerve to defeat New Zealand by six wickets in the second Twenty20 International on Sunday, tying the three-match series 1-1 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in New Delhi.
Indian bowlers bowled brilliantly to restrict New Zealand to 99/8 in 20 overs. Spinners spun the web and took the first five wickets of New Zealand, who never got going in the innings. The Indian pacers then finished the game brilliantly for the hosts.
Arshdeep Singh (2-7) was India's most successful bowler, but Yuzvendra Chahal (1-4), Kuldeep Yadav (1-17), Deepak Hooda (1-17), Washington Sundar (1/17) and Hardik Pandya (1/25) all took important wickets at regular intervals.
India were in trouble after being reduced to 50/3 in 10.4 overs while chasing a small total on a difficult pitch, but Suryakumar Yadav once again showed his class.
Yadav batted crucially (26 not out off 31 balls), formed crucial partnerships with Washington Sundar (10) and Hardik Pandya (15 not out), and hit the winning boundary for India in the final over.
New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first. In the first over, opener Devon Conway hit Hardik Pandya for a boundary, while Washington Sundar bowled a disciplined second over. Pandya returned for the third over, and Finn Allen got a lucky boundary, with wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan missing a difficult opportunity.
Hardik brought on Yuzvendra Chahal early in the innings with the pitch assisting spinners, and the move paid off. Finn Allen (11) was frustrated and attempted a reverse sweep, but with Chahal turning the ball, he failed to connect with the bat and was bowled.
Following Chahal's wicket-maiden, Washington followed it up with a wicket after dismissing Conway (11). The left-hander, who hit the game-winning fifty in the previous game, tried a reverse sweep, but the ball went up after making contact with the glove, only to be caught by the keeper. New Zealand is in trouble and has fallen behind in the Power-play, scoring only 33 points.
Deepak Hooda was soon introduced into the attack, and he struck immediately, with another Kiwi batter, Glenn Phillips (5), falling while attempting a reverse sweep. India's spinners were taking control of the game, and it didn't take long for Kuldeep Yadav to make an impact by cleaning up Daryl Mitchell (8).
Run-out was the last thing New Zealand needed on a tricky surface dominated by spinners. However, a misunderstanding between Mark Chapman (14) and Michael Bracewell resulted in the former being run out, leaving the Black Caps at 60/5 after 12.4 overs.
Following that, Bracewell and Mitchell Santner put on a brief 20-run stand before Hardik Pandya came on for his second and final spell to take a wicket. Arshdeep took a near-perfect catch at the fine-leg boundary after Bracewell got a top edge.
Arshdeep arrived at the bowl right at death after a long wait and immediately stuck. In the same over, the left-armer removed Ish Sodhi and Lockie Ferguson with short balls. Eventually, skipper Mitchell Santner's valiant knock (19 not out off 23) and Jacob Duffy's (6 not out) knock helped New Zealand to a respectable total of 99-8 in 20 Overs.
Brief scores: New Zealand 99/8 in 20 overs (Mitchell Santner 19 not out; Arshdeep Singh 2-7, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-4) lost to India 101/4 in 19.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 26 not out, Ishan Kishan 19; Michael Bracewell 1-13) by six wickets.