NZ vs IND, 2nd T20I | Who said what ft. Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Kane Williamson

India's B-side was enough to thwart New Zealand in the second of three T20Is, held at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui after a brilliant century from Suryakumar Yadav drove them to a 65-run triumph. The world's number one ranked batter proved his worth yet again as he made sure the Men in Blue did not feel the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli, becoming only the second Indian to score two centuries in a year in the game's shortest format.

Coming in to bat at number three rather than the usual number four, Yadav took India from 36-1 after 5.1 overs to a total of 191/6, ending unbeaten on 111 off just 51 deliveries. His knock featured the usual array of unconventional shots that amazed experts and spectators alike. 

The plan was clear when I went into bat. At the 12th/13th over, we thought about batting deep and getting around 170-175 was a par score. Secret (behind his freak shots) is about the intent and you need to enjoy yourself. It's also about the work you do in the practice sessions. It's a great feeling coming here, having a full game and going 1-0 in the series feels good. I feel that I didn't think too much about what was happening. Just had my gameplan and it worked well. Fantastic crowd here.

Suryakumar Yadav

Stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya, who is being pipped for the role permanently as per reports once a new selection committee is appointed, used up six bowlers in the game with the otherwise largely unused Deepak Hooda returning best figures of 4/10. As a unit, they bowled out the Kiwis for 126 with seven balls still to spare.

Can't get any better than this. Everyone chipped it but it was surely a special innings by Surya. We would have taken a score of 170-175. Bowlers did well and it was about being aggressive in the mindset. It doesn't mean taking a wicket every ball, but being aggressive with the ball is important. The conditions were very wet, so credit to the bowlers. I have bowled a lot, going forward I want to see more bowling options. Not always that this will work but I want more batters to chip in with the ball. I expect them to be professional, which they are. Give them the opportunity to enjoy themselves. It's about creating an environment where they are all in a happy space. I see many times in this team that all the players are happy for each other's success. And that's important. I don't know (about changes for the next game). I'd like to give everyone in the squad a chance but it's just one more game, so it's a bit tough.

Hardik Pandya

Tim Southee, who took a hat trick against India, heaped praise on Suryakumar for his audacious knock.

Anytime a T20 player gets a hundred in a match, it's quite often the difference. You look at the rest of the side and the way we sort of batted, his innings was miles apart from anything else we saw today. Probably made them get to a score that was probably a little bit more than what we were hoping for. It was an exceptional innings and it was the difference between restricting India to 175-180 and then getting above 190.

Tim Southee

Kane Williamson led the charge for the Black Caps himself with a gritty 61 off 52 balls but received little support from the other end.

It was not our best effort. Surya's innings was out of this world. One of the best knocks I've ever seen. Some of those shots, I've never seen before. They were outstanding, we weren't upto mark. We didn't get momentum with the ball, didn't get enough wickets and didn't get momentum with the bat either. It was frustrating. Again, I'll say about Suryakumar, his innings was the difference. It did swing a bit (in the chase) and India did well to get some swing. Important to look at those few areas and improve. Need to look at the small margins. Sometimes, a special innings can happen, Surya is the best player in the world.

Kane Williamson