INDIA beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20 international on Friday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, after strong batting from captain Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan.
Chasing 209, India reached the target with 28 balls remaining, built around a 122-run third-wicket stand between Kishan, who made 76, and Suryakumar, who finished unbeaten on 82, in the match in Raipur.
India go into the third match on Sunday in Guwahati with a chance to seal the series, which is being used as a warm-up for the T20 World Cup starting on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
Left-hander Kishan, back in the India side after two years, steadied the innings after India slipped to 6-2, hitting a series of boundaries.
Kishan was named player of the match, with Suryakumar praising his innings.
"I don't know what Ishan had for lunch in the afternoon or what pre-workout he had before the game, but I've never seen anyone bat at 6 for 2 in that manner and still end the powerplay around 67 or 70," Suryakumar said.
"I thought it was incredible. Chasing 200 or 210, this is what we want from batters -- to go out there, express themselves, be happy in their own space. And that's exactly what he did today."
Kishan reached his fifty in 21 balls with a four before being dismissed by leg-spinner Ish Sodhi. He hit 11 fours and four sixes in his 32-ball innings.
Suryakumar brought up his first T20 fifty in 468 days, and 23 innings, raising his bat to the crowd. His previous half-century in the format came against Bangladesh on October 12, 2024.
Suryakumar struck nine fours and four sixes in his 37-ball innings, and added an unbeaten 81-run stand with Shivam Dube, who made 36.
New Zealand made early inroads through Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy in the first two overs, but Zak Foulkes conceded 24 runs in the third over, which included a no ball for four and three wides.
Earlier, New Zealand posted 208-6 after captain Mitchell Santner scored an unbeaten 47 off 27 balls.
Openers Devon Conway and Tim Seifert gave New Zealand a fast start with a 43-run stand. Conway was dismissed for 19 off nine balls by Harshit Rana, who removed him for the fourth time in successive white-ball matches.
Seifert made 24 before falling to Varun Chakravarthy. Glenn Phillips added 19, while Rachin Ravindra top-scored with 44 off 26 balls.
India took wickets at regular intervals, including two by Kuldeep Yadav, but New Zealand kept scoring, with Foulkes ending the innings with a six and a four.
"When you come up against a side that bats deep on a really good wicket, that's the way India have come out -- with intent from ball one," Santner said.
"I guess they have a licence for every batter. For us, it's about trying to squeeze wherever we can. But on the flip side, we also know we probably have to go a bit harder, knowing that 200 or 210 isn't enough anymore."
