Mount Maunganui (The Hawk): Even though there were no thunderstorms, Suryakumar Yadav created his own storm at a sold-out Bay Oval under the stars. Suryakumar delivered yet another 360-degree astounding masterclass in T20I batting with an undefeated 49-ball century to help India thrash the Blackcaps by 65 runs against a New Zealand bowling outfit that was far from its usual best.
Suryakumar, the top-ranked T20I batter, hit 11 fours and seven sixes all over the park at a strike rate of 217.65 to be unbeaten on 111 off 51 balls, which Virat Kohli aptly referred to on Twitter as "another video game innings" on a slow pitch where nearly all Indian and New Zealand batters struggled to time the ball.
Despite not getting the strike in the final over of the innings, Suryakumar scored 54 runs off his final 16 balls to help India to a daunting 191/6 after being 57 off 35 balls at the conclusion of the 16th over.
With the exception of Tim Southee's hat-trick in the final over, New Zealand had a forgettable day with the ball. They were bowled out for 126 in 18.5 overs because they were unable to get going with the bat.
Kane Williamson led the team in scoring with 61 points, but it was painful to watch him struggle and struggle to time the ball correctly. Deepak Hooda took four wickets, including three in the 19th over, while Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal both had two wickets each to lead the way.
Suryakumar's start wasn't good since after scoring a pair of runs to get things going, he was dismissed in back-to-back deliveries. He then started playing after clearing the goalie off Lockie Ferguson with a scooped four. Suryakumar next hit a six-run sweep over a deep backward square leg on Mitchell Santner.
He advanced in his distinctive manner, cutting lovely drives, particularly going inside-out twice over extra cover off Ish Sodhi for a brace of fours. Ferguson's pace caught Suryakumar's attention in particular, and he used it to rip off his hips over fine leg for six, a shot that astounded everyone.
Suryakumar once more captivated the spectators by dancing down the pitch for a brilliant lofted six from Santner over deep extra cover after reaching his fifty in 32 balls. In the next two balls of the 17th over, he used his agile wrists to flick Southee for six and four before hitting Milne for a pair of sixes on slower balls over long-off and fine leg.
In the 19th over, Suryakumar played with Ferguson by opening the face of the bat late to cut over third man for four. In the 19th over, he struck the tearaway pacer three times for four runs and once for six, the second of which helped him reach his 49-ball century with a stunning drive past extra cover in a masterful display of batsmanship.
In comparison to Suryakumar, the other Indian batters appeared insignificant. On an outside short ball from Ferguson, Rishabh Pant pulled to short third man. Before cutting straight to short third man off Sodhi in his 36, Ishan Kishan appeared to be in terrific shape.
In lofting Sodhi on both sides of the 'v' for four and six, Shreyas Iyer shone. His backfoot disturbed the stumps while trying to flick off Ferguson, which led to his dismissal at hit-wicket. Washington Sundar, Hooda, and Hardik Pandya were the hat-trick victims for Southee.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar persuaded Finn Allen to try for a drive, and the edge sailed to the onrushing third man, allowing India to score with the very next ball of the 191-run defence. Six boundaries were hit by Williamson and Devon Conway, who also scored 17 runs off Washington Sundar's opening over of the game.
Conway's poorly timed sweep to deep backward square leg off Sundar in the ninth over gave India their chance to respond, though. Despite hitting a four and a six, Chahal clean bowled Glenn Phillips as he attempted a slog-sweep.
The pressure from the scoreboard then caused Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham to hole out to long-on consecutively. It seemed inevitable that Mitchell Santner would be captured by Siraj after gaining a leading edge and following through.
Williamson scored his fifty with a deep backward square leg drawn six, and Siraj was wonderfully hit through the off-side for four more runs, but it was too late for New Zealand.
His tumultuous stay came to an end when Siraj's under-edge on a swipe across the line crashed into the stumps, and Hooda picked up the final three wickets for India in the space of four balls to secure a comprehensive victory ahead of Tuesday's T20I in Napier.
Brief Scores: India 191/6 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 111 not out, Ishan Kishan 36; Tim Southee 3/34, Lockie Ferguson 2/49) beat New Zealand 126 all out in 18.5 overs (Kane Williamson 61, Devon Conway 25; Deepak Hooda 4/10, Mohammed Siraj 2/24) by 65 runs
(Inputs from Agencies)
