India vs New Zealand, 2nd T20I Match Summary

From Nagpur, the caravan now journeys east to the city of Raipur for the second of five T20Is. The first punch has been landed by India, and New Zealand will be looking to respond strongly at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, much like they did in the ODI leg of the tour. New Zealand bowled well in patches in the series opener, but there were far too many freebies as India powered their way to 238. Losing a couple of wickets early in the chase only made their task tougher, and they eventually fell well short. In a game where 428 runs were scored, Jacob Duffy stood out, going at under 7 an over and bowling 14 dot balls in his four overs. This is not the full make-up of the pace attack New Zealand are likely to field at the World Cup. Kyle Jamieson and Kristian Clarke are not part of the World Cup squad, but they will be keen to hone their skills in Indian conditions, especially with Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson working their way back from injury. The possibility of an eleventh-hour call-up cannot be ruled out. It was a rare off day with the ball for Mitchell Santner, while Ish Sodhi was also taken to task. With the bat, Glenn Phillips had a positive outing, but Daryl Mitchell coming in at number six was perhaps a move to give Mark Chapman a hit-out, given he wasn't part of the ODI series. New Zealand are also missing Finn Allen and James Neesham due to franchise commitments, and they will hope to piece things together better as the series moves to Raipur. As for India, a win always boosts team confidence, and this one did so on an individual level as well. Suryakumar Yadav showed signs of returning to form after a quiet 2025, while Rinku Singh, back in the side after missing the South Africa series, played the finisher's role to perfection. With batting depth stretching down to number eight, India's no-holds-barred approach continued, led once again by Abhishek Sharma. With the ball, it wasn't a completely clinical outing for India. They were taken on by Glenn Phillips, and the catching left room for improvement, with multiple chances going down. A slight concern is Axar Patel, who suffered a cut to his left hand while attempting a catch. India will hope it's nothing serious and that Axar can be rested as a precaution if needed. They don't have a like-for-like spin-bowling all-rounder on the bench, though they do have specialist spin options in Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav. There has been just one T20I so far in Raipur, back in 2023, between India and Australia. How the conditions play out, and which side adapts quicker to them, will be fascinating to watch. Who are you rooting for?