Rohit, Krunal help India beat NZ

Hamilton (Agencies): Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma cracked a blistering half-century as India outclassed New Zealand by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international on Friday and levelled the three-match series at 1-1.

Chasing 159 for victory, Rohit’s 29-ball 50 and Shikhar Dhawan’s 30 laid the perfect platform as India cruised home with seven balls to spare at Auckland. Rishabh Pant, who scored an unbeaten 40, finished the job in the company of experienced wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India quickly overcame the disappointment of an 80-run defeat in the opening match of the series.

 “Very pleased to see how we bowled and then we were clinical with the bat as well,” Rohit, who overtook Martin Guptill as the highest scorer in the format with 2,288 runs, said. “We didn’t execute plans in the first game, we executed them here and got the reward for it. It’s important to understand the mistakes we made. “We wanted the guys to go out there with a clear mind. We have got quality in our side and we are looking forward to the next game. Hopefully, we can do what we did today.” Earlier, left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya dented the Kiwi top-order to finish with figures of 3-28 in four overs.