New Zealand India Twenty20 series: India lose by 1 run

In a nail-biting match which started with the New Zealand team losing two wickets in first two overs and finished with India chasing four runs in the last ball to win, the second Twenty20 match stopped short of being a fairytale comeback for Yuvraj Singh.

India won the toss and elected to field and took two wickets in quick succession. But the third New Zealand batsman -- Brendon McCullum – brought stability and gained control of the game with his 91 runs out of 55 balls. Next in line was Kane Williamson who scored 28 runs off 26 balls and then the partnership between Luteru Taylor and Jacob Oram helped New Zealand post a respectable total of 167.

Chasing 168, India’s Virat Kohli put up a strong fight with his 70 off 41 balls which was studded with 10  fours and 1 six. Yuvraj Singh, in his first match since November last year, made 34 runs from 26 balls which included two smashing sixes. But he succumbed to James Franklin’s delivery. Captain MS Dhoni and batsman Suresh Raina scored a total of 47 runs out of 45 balls but the Indian team had lost momentum and finished two runs short of a win.

“…We thought the wicket will stay good till the end, but it slowed down a bit and if it had stayed better we could have performed better,” Dhoni said.

McCullum was declared the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series. “It was nice to get a win and was very important,” McCullum said. The win against the host nation brings an end to New Zealand’s lacklustre tour so far in India.