The Indian cricket team beat New Zealand by seven wickets at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Friday, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match IND vs NZ T20 2026 series.
Riding a collective effort in which every batter reached double figures, world No. 4 New Zealand posted 208/6 after being put in to bat first.Â
Rachin Ravindra (44 off 26) set the tone through the first half before skipper Mitchell Santner (47* off 27) ensured a strong finish. Kuldeep Yadav (2/35) was the pick of the Indian bowlers.
In reply, world No. 1 India were pegged back early but fiery knocks from Suryakumar Yadav (82 off 37) and Ishan Kishan (76 off 32) ensured India chased down the target in 15.2 overs.
The visitors flew out of the blocks as Devon Conway and Tim Seifert went after the Indian seamers, racing to 43 without loss inside the first three overs.Â
Although Harshit Rana struck back with a wicket maiden that accounted for Conway, New Zealand refused to ease off, with Rachin Ravindra keeping the tempo high after the powerplay.
India pulled things back around the halfway mark as Kuldeep Yadav removed Glenn Phillips in the ninth over and then Ravindra in the 13th, briefly checking the flow of runs. From 111/3 after 10 overs, New Zealand added only 44 runs in the next six.
Any hopes of keeping New Zealand below 200, however, were dashed by skipper Mitchell Santner, who counter-punched with an unbeaten 27-ball 47.Â
He found support from Zak Foulkes at the death as New Zealand surged for 47 runs in the final three overs.
In reply, India slumped to 6/2 with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma dismissed in quick succession but what followed was a stunning counter-assault led by Ishan Kishan.
Kishan brought up the fastest 50 by any Indian in the format against the Kiwis in just 21 balls, tearing into the New Zealand attack with a blistering 76 off 32, laced with 11 fours and four sixes.
Kishan found the perfect foil in Indian T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, and the pair flipped the chase with a 122-run stand off just 49 balls.Â
Kishan fell in the 10th over but India had already surged to 128, leaving them with under eight runs per over required.
Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube maintained the tempo as India chased down the target with 28 balls to spare.
The third game of the series will be played at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday. The five-match series is India’s last assignment before the T20 World Cup 2026 begins on February 7.
IND vs NZ T20 2025, 2nd match brief scores: New Zealand 208/6 in 20 overs (Mitchell Santner 47; Kuldeep Yadav 2/35) lost to India 209/3 in 15.2 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 82*, Ishan Kishan 76; Jacob Duffy 1/38) by seven wickets.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/india-vs-new-zealand-t20-cricket-2025-series-match-2-report
