Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav put India 2-0 up

Ishan Kishan and Surykumar Yadav hit sparkling fifties to make a mockery of a 200-plus run chase against New Zealand to take a 2-0 lead in the T20I series. India's batters showcased their prowess yet again to send a reminder of their billing as the favourites to retain their crown in the T20 World Cup beginning next month as a target of 209 was hunted down with ease.

The fact that Ishan and Suryakumar unleashed a carnage despite the loss of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma in the first seven deliveries of the chase is even more commendable. Ishan, looking to make an impression in the absence of Tilak Varma, went berserk against Zakary Foulkes and hit Mitchell Santner for a hat-trick of boundaries. Matt Henry was ripped apart in the final over of the powerplay as the left-hander brought up a stunning 21-ball half-century, becoming only the fifth Indian to score over 50 runs inside the first six overs in a T20I.

Any hopes of the boundaries drying up post the six-over mark were quickly quashed as Ishan hit a six each off Ish Sodhi and Santner before Suryakumar joined the party. The Indian skipper gave Foulkes an outing to forget by carting him around for 25 runs in an over and that meant the New Zealander's figures read 2-0-49-0. While a top edge finally ended the carnage with Ishan walking back for 76, Suryakumar continued to sizzle and in the process went past fifty for the first time in T20Is in over a year. Shivam Dube got into the act very soon as well and that meant the required run rate was already below six by the end of the 12th over - an indication of the fireworks that were on display in Raipur. Eventually, India got the job done with 28 balls to spare.

Earlier in the evening, Devon Conway gave New Zealand an optimistic start by taking down Arshdeep Singh in the very first over for 18 runs. Tim Sefert added to Arshdeep's early woes by smashing him for four straight boundaries. Having raced to 43/0 in the first three overs, New Zealand made only 21 in the next three to round off the powerplay on a poor note. In these three overs, Harshit Rana bowled a wicket-maiden and Varun Chakaravarthy struck as well to peg New Zealand back.

Rachin Ravindra went on a six-hitting spree to revive the visitors again and Glenn Phillips made a rampant start at the other end to shift the pressure but India kept striking at regular intervals. After Kuldeep Yadav removed Phillips, the golden arm of Dube saw the in-form Daryl Mitchell depart for 18. Kuldeep returned to the attack to get rid of a well-set Ravindra and that meant New Zealand had to pull themselves up again to finish big. After a few calm overs, Santner took on the mantle to give his side the finish they desperately needed as he took on Rana and Hardik Pandya before Foulkes rounded off the innings with a six and a four to help New Zealand go past 200 - a score that India breached with 34 balls left which pretty much summed up the gulf in class on the night.

Brief scores: New Zealand 208/6 in 20 overs (Mitchell Santner 47*, Rachin Ravindra 44; Kuldeep Yadav 2/35) lost to India 209/3 in 15.2 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 82*, Ishan Kishan 76) by 7 wickets