New Delhi: Captain Suryakumar Yadav ended a 468-day-long drought with a blistering fifty as India defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets in the 2nd T20I against New Zealand at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Friday, January 23. Ishan Kishan also made a brilliant comeback, smashing 76 runs off 32 balls, helping the Men in Blue to chase down a 209-run target in 15.2 overs.
This was Suryakumar’s first T20I fifty since October 12, 2024. He played 21 T20I matches for India in 2025 but failed to score a fifty throughout the year. Chasing the target, the hosts got off to a poor start as Matt Henry dismissed Sanju Samson for 6 runs in the first over, while Jacob Duffy removed Abhishek Sharma for a duck in the very next over.
After their dismissal, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav stitched a match-winning 122-run partnership for the third wicket. In-form Kishan smashed boundaries in the power play to put the pressure back on the Kiwi bowlers. He completed his half-century in just 21 balls and became the batter with the fastest fifty against New Zealand, surpassing Abhishek Sharma’s record of 22 balls.
He continued attacking the New Zealand bowlers as Suryakumar Yadav took his time early on. Ishan scored 76 runs off 32 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and four maximums and was dismissed by Ish Sodhi in the 9th over. After his dismissal, the Indian captain shifted gears and completed his half-century in 23 balls.
(more to follow)