India vs New Zealand, 2nd T20I: Man of The Match, Post Match Presentation, Scorecard and Highlights

Ranchi, Nov 19: Openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul slammed brilliant half-centuries as Team India defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20 International to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on Friday (November 19).

Rahul looked in sublime touch and scored a superb fifty before getting dismissed for 65 off 49 deliveries while Rohit smashed his 25th T20I half-century. The duo stitched a century stand, their fifth in the shortest format, and laid the foundation for a big win for the Men In Blue. India, thus, chased down the target at ease with Rahul and Rohit stitching 117 runs for the opening wicket.

Tim Southee - the Blackcaps captain - picked up three wickets for his team but didn't get any support from the rest of the bowlers. He dismissed Rohit (55) and Suryakumar Yadav (1) in a single over in the death overs to put some pressure on the hosts in the run chase.

But Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer denied the tourists any further happiness and Pant hit back-to-back sixes off Jimmy Neesham and finished the match for Team India in 17.2 overs for India.

Earlier in the day, India produced a decent bowling effort to restrict New Zealand to a modest 153 for six after captain Rohit opted to bowl. Harshal Patel shone bright with figures of 2 for 25, while veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (1/19), Axar Patel (1/26), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/39) and Deepak Chahar (1/42) picked up a wicket each.

Glenn Phillips (34 off 21), Martin Guptill (31 off 15) and Daryl Mitchell (31 off 28) were notable contributors for New Zealand.

India, thus, took a 2-0 lead in the series, having won the first match by five wickets in Jaipur.

Post Match Presentation Highlights of the 2nd T20I between India vs New Zealand:

List of Awards:

ACC Kamaal Ka Moment Award: Rishabh Pant

Dream11 Game Changer of the Match Award: KL Rahul

Hyundai Best Save of the Match Award: Martin Guptill

Paytm Man of the Match: Harshal Patel

Rohit Sharma, winning captain: Great effort from the entire unit. Wasn't the easiest of conditions but the way we applied ourselves was amazing. We know their quality of batting, they played some good shots to start with. But I kept telling the boys that it is all about one wicket. But we showed great application and temperament to restrict them. The quality of the bench has been amazing. They have been performing consistently whenever they get the chance. It is important for me to give them freedom.

The external matters will take care of themselves. It is a young team and the guys haven't played a lot of games. It is important that the guys get time in the middle. It is early to think about changes in the next game. Whatever suits team India, we'll do that.

We need to make sure we look after the guys who are playing now. They haven't played a lot either. For the guys who haven't played, their time will come, there are a lot of T20s. Harshal has done it time and again, he is a very skilful bowler. Even in these conditions, he used the slower ball really well.

Tim Southee, losing captain: Credit to India, they pulled it back nicely after the first six overs. They played better cricket and didn't give us a chance with the bat as well. It was wet for both teams and it was only slightly more in the second innings. We knew dew would be a factor, but India were too good on this day. We will now go to a new venue, a quick turnaround, and we'll assess when we get to Kolkata.

Harshal Patel, player of the match: The match did run through. When you are in the process you just get engrossed. It will sink in and it has been a great game. I couldn't have asked for a better debut. The progress is gradual and slow. For someone like me who is not exceptionally talented, I had to build my game from the ground up.

I made mistakes and then found things that I can and cannot do well. It has been a great journey and has taught me many lessons which will hold me in good stead even after cricket. I feel you don't need too many variations. You just need to know what works for you and need to package it well.

I couldn't bowl those yorkers and loopy slower ones in these conditions. The yorker is a delivery I would like to use and get better at. I have seen myself fall into shiny things so many times. It is another platform for me to come, perform and show my skills. Just want to do that and enjoy whatever comes my way.

KL Rahul, on bowlers pulling it back: I think we did really well by pulling the game back after the first 6 overs, the bowlers had a discussion midway and decided maybe change of pace will work and they have to be brave with the ball and bluff the batsman a couple of times. (The) wicket was really good and the ball was soaking wet, so it was hard for the bowlers to bowl as well and initially it didn't grip as much as we thought it would and we played around with the field and really happy that we could restrict New Zealand for 150 odd after the kind of start they got.

Rahul on their batting approach in the run chase: We always give ourselves a couple of overs to see what the pitch is doing and then try and assess what are the shots we can play and who are the bowlers we can target and at the rate we need to go at. Just try and enjoy our batting and when we get a start like that there comes a time when both of us decide that both of us have to take down whoever is bowling and that's exactly what Rohit did and we try and build from him. We try and see what works best for us as a batting unit, we want to take more chances in the middle if we have wickets in hand and we want to trust our middle-order. We have a lot of exciting young players in the middle-order, Surya showed us the last game, and we know what Rishabh can do, Shreyas is in the batting line-up, Venkatesh Iyer playing his first series and for us, as openers, it's important to assess the first couple of overs and set up a good foundation for others.

Rahul, on batting with Rohit: We (Rohit & I) both enjoy batting with each other, I always admired Rohit's batting. He is a class batsman and has shown the world that over the years so I really enjoy batting with him and we really try to take the pressure off each other and if there is a bowler that I can't get away then without even me having to say it to him he takes down that bowler, so my job becomes a bit easier and we found a way to get runs at the top of the order and we want to keep doing what we have been doing and keep giving India a solid foundation and a solid start.