Never say never again: this sounds apt for our Indian cricket team as they beat New Zealand by six wickets in the second T20I in Lucknow.

Batting first, New Zealand were restricted to 99/8 in 20 overs, thanks to the Indian spinners inflicting early damage with the ball. Chasing 100, India didn’t have it easy in the middle overs, but aapla dada, Suryakumar Yadav, was at it again to rescue India. SKY’s patient innings of 26 in 31 balls alongside captain Hardik Pandya (15) saw the Men in Blue cross the finish line in 19.5 overs.

Kiwis caught in India’s web

India’s spinners - Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Deepak Hooda and Kuldeep Yadav - castled their way through the New Zealand top order as they reduced the visitors to 48/4 in 10 overs.

The KulCha show returns

Chahal and Kuldeep have often put on a spectacle with the ball in recent years for India, and tonight was no different. Finn Allen attempted a reverse sweep against Yuzi’s delivery, but the ball spun through his back leg and hit the stumps.

In the case of Kuldeep, he bowled a length ball that sharply snuck through Daryl Mitchell’s bat and pad to clip off the bails of the stump.

Arshdeep and Hardik’s give-and-take policy

Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh had to thank each other for their respective wickets. First, Arshdeep caught Michael Bracewell at fine leg, first by lobbing it over the boundary line, and then coming in to complete the catch to see the Skip end his spell with a wicket.

The favour was returned in the 18th over. Arshdeep’s delivery took a top edge off Ish Sodhi’s bat straight up in the air towards mid-wicket, and guess who stood there!

The sky is blue in Lucknow

Despite some hiccups, India chased 100 in 19.5 overs, thanks to you-know-who. Surya hit the winning runs off Blair Tickner’s penultimate delivery to cap off an emphatic finish to a low-scoring game with late high pressure. The match had more turns than the already-turner of a pitch dished out. Nah, we were super clinical just when it mattered the most.

We now move next to Ahmedabad for the third T20I on Wednesday (February 1).

Brief Scores

India 101/4 in 19.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 26*; Michael Bracewell 1/13) beat New Zealand 99/8 in 20 overs (Mitchell Santner 19*; Arshdeep Singh 2/7) by 6 wickets.