India vs New Zealand 2017, 2nd T20I: 5 things we learnt from the match

Colin Munro smashed his second T20I hundred and Trent Boult dismantled the Indian top order to help New Zealand level the three-match T20I series at Rajkot. Opting to bat first on a flat surface, Munro and Martin Guptill put on 105 in 11 overs before the latter fell to Chahal. The southpaw carried on in the same vein and completed his second T20I hundred to take New Zealand to a competitive 196.

India had managed a 201-run chase against Australia in a T20I on this ground and with the kind of firepower they boast, the target never seemed out of reach until Trent Boult ran in hard to send Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma back in the same over. From 11/2, Shreyas Iyer, with a slew of cut shots, and Virat Kohli, tried to resurrect the innings but Munro broke that partnership with a well disguised slower ball that ended Iyer's outing. Kohli tried his best to take India close but found no ally as New Zealand sealed the game by 40 runs.

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#5 Colin Munro sizzling in new role

Munro smashed his second T20I hundred, off 54 balls

There are several things New Zealand have done right in this series that their predecessors failed to do. Most prominent among them is the switch in batting positions between Tom Latham and Colin Munro. Latham, an exceptional player of spin, was pushed to the middle-order and Munro was freed up to open the innings.

The move not only helped them counter India's spinners but also enabled Munro to have a full go at the Indian opening bowlers. He did quite well in the ODIs but at Rajkot, the southpaw took it to an entirely different level by scything through the Indian attack to notch up a second T20I century, this one taking the visitors to a threatening 196. Only three other batsmen have two T20I hundreds and Munro joins a rather special list with his stunning knock.

#4 Mohammed Siraj has a forgettable debut

Siraj bowled far too many loose balls in a forgettable debut spell

Mohammed Siraj had eagerly awaited an Indian debut after some promising performances in the domestic circuit. When the chance did arrive, he had a pancake of a pitch to bowl on against some world-class hitters. The first delivery he sent down pretty much summed up his entire day. A short and wide delivery outside off-stump was bludgeoned through point by Colin Munro.

Siraj's day got worse as it progressed although he managed a rather big scalp, Kane Williamson, as his maiden wicket. The Sunrisers Hyderabad pace bowler failed to exert any kind of control on his debut and would want to forget this outing as quickly as possible.

Most runs conceded on T20I debut64 - James Anderson, vs AUS '0757 - Joginder Sharma, vs ENG, '0753 - Mohammed Siraj, vs NZ '17#INDvNZ

— Abhishek Kumar (@abhik2593) November 4, 2017

#3 Guptill manages to provide the oomph

New Zealand's experienced opener Martin Guptill had a forgettable Indian tour till today

Martin Guptill was having a horrendous India tour with nothing going right for him. He had either been undone by Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Jasprit Bumrah early in their spells or by Chahal who managed to outwit him with his guile and flight. Whatever the reason, Guptill has just failed to get going and New Zealand seemed to be handicapped by his continued failures.

However, at Rajkot, he showed signs of returning to form by giving a much-needed boost to the New Zealand innings early on. He took Yuzvendra Chahal for 16 in the 5th over and added yet another six against the leggie before the bowler extracted revenge by forcing a miscued loft that was pouched by Hardik Pandya at long-off. However, his 41-ball 45 gave New Zealand and Munro a stable platform to launch an attack.

#2 Dhawan-Rohit's rare failure and Boult's double

Dhawan and Rohit have more often than not given India a scorching start

India's openers - Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma - have been in such prolific form of late that on most occasions the Indian middle-order have had a solid platform to build their innings on. However, in the second T20I, with 197 to chase down, the openers let India down.

Dhawan was cleaned up by Boult in the second over of the innings, missing a fairly straight ball, while Rohit Sharma edged him to the keeper in the very same over to put India in a spot of bother. At 11/2, the middle-order was exposed quite early and Boult, after recording his worst T20I figures last game, scripted a fine start for the Kiwis with the new ball.

#1 Kohli may not be able to nail a run chase every time

Kohli, for once, couldn't seal a run chase for India

Virat Kohli showed signs of his mortality by failing to seal off a run chase for once as India succumbed in the second T20I. A master of pacing run chases, Kohli was left high and dry by his teammates who refused to co-operate and give him enough support.

If Shreyas Iyer flashed at one too many, MS Dhoni was conservative and the pressure eventually compounded on the Indian skipper, who managed to go past the landmark of 7000 T20 runs. With India well out of the game, Kohli was caught behind off Mitchell Santner, but not before he had completed yet another T20 half-century.