After New Zealand’s commanding victory in Wellington, it was India’s turn to turn the tables. The Eden Park, Auckland, the venue for the 2nd T20I, was filled with a huge Indian contingent. And they weren’t disappointed one bit as India bounced back with a clinical performance.

Kane Williamson opted to bat first after winning the toss. The intensity from the visitors was evident from the outset. Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided the perfect start by removing Tim Seifert for 12 in the 3rd over. There was a halt in the scoring rate during the powerplay. Krunal Pandya then broke the back of Kiwi batting as he dismissed Colin Munro, Daryl Mitchell and Williamson in quick succession.

The hosts were down to 50/4 in the 8th over. Colin de Grandhomme then counter-attacked and along with Ross Taylor, added 77 runs for the 5th wicket. But as his knock of 50 from 28 ended, the Indian bowlers pounced on the opportunity again. Some good death bowling by Bhuvneshwar and Khaleel Ahmed restricted New Zealand to 158/8.

The Indian openers were positive from the beginning. The stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma was at his fluent best. He took the attack to the opposition and scored 50 from just 29 balls. The opening pair added 79 runs that put India in a commanding position.

New Zealand managed to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar along the way. But Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni took the side past the line with a stand of 44 runs. Pant made an unbeaten 40 while Dhoni stayed not out at 20. India managed to level the series and set up a decider in the last game.

Match Summary

New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first

New Zealand: 158/8 in 20 overs

Colin de Grandhomme 50 (28), Ross Taylor 42 (36)

Krunal Pandya 28/3 (4), Khaleel Ahmed 27/2 (4)

India: 162/3 in 18.5 overs

Rohit Sharma 50 (29), Rishabh Pant 40 (28)

Lockie Ferguson 31/1 (4), Daryl Mitchell 15/1 (1)

India won by 7 wickets

Player of the Match: Krunal Pandya

Here are best tweets for India’s series-leveling victory

Same teams, same set of players, completely different result. Underlines the great importance of taking wickets early. #NZvIND — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 8, 2019

https://twitter.com/mohanstatsman/status/1093786769634615296

https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1093789906479038464

https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1093802278165737472

No. of wins for India in T20Is now: Under Virat Kohli : 12 (20 matches)

Under Rohit Sharma : 12 (14 matches)#NZvIND — Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) February 8, 2019

https://twitter.com/cricketaakash/status/1093759946003427328

https://twitter.com/mipaltan/status/1093819226664648705

Most 50-plus scores in T20Is: 20 – Rohit Sharma*

19 – Virat Kohli

16 – Martin Guptill #NZvIND — Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) February 8, 2019

Fine cameo by Rishabh Pant.. Fantastic contribution with ball by Krunal Pandya! Rohit revelled as India register their maiden T20I win in New Zealand. Series locked at 1-1. Splendid all-round effort by Team India #NZvsIND — Navneet Mundhra (@navneet_mundhra) February 8, 2019

Most sixes in international cricket..

476 – Shahid Afridi/Chris Gayle

398 – Brendon McCullum

352 – Sanath Jayasuriya

349 – Rohit Sharma

348 – MS Dhoni

328 – AB de Villiers#NZvInd — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 8, 2019

This is India's first win in New Zealand in T20Is. They lost all the three T20Is which they played before.

U.S.A. is the only country where they have not won a T20I yet among countries in which they have played T20I matches. #NZvIND — Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) February 8, 2019

Also Read: Who will win the ODI World Cup 2019? Here are the top 5 contenders

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