Watch: Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismisses Daryl Mitchell for first wicket on return – NZ vs IND 2nd T20I

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose return was delayed due to rain during the fifth T20I between India and West Indies while he was smashed for 49 runs in four overs in the first T20I against New Zealand, finally opened his account on return with the wicket of Daryl Mitchell during the second T20I of the series. 

India’s captain, Shreyas Iyer, for the second time in the series, won the toss and decided to bowl first on a surface, which looked flat with the extra benefit of the dew. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came into the eleven in place of injured Ishan Kishan, while Prince Yadav replaced Mayank Yadav.

Bhuvneshwar strikes to remove Mitchell at Hagley Oval in Christchurch

On the fourth delivery of the third over of the first innings, Daryl Mitchell got saved by a whisker on a run-out. But Bhuvi finally sent back the right-handed batter for six runs off five balls, having notched up one boundary in the knock.

Watch Bhuvneshwar Kumar's wicket on T20I return here- 

On the final delivery of the over, Bhuvneshwar put the ball on the good length as it seemed to have held on the right-handed batter. Mitchell was shaping for the flick shot as he opened up his body and waded through with the shot. But the ball caught the leading edge and popped behind the cover-point region.

See Also: Watch: Glenn Phillips's unbelievable switch hit off Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the final ball of NZ vs IND 1st T20I

Tilak Varma, who was standing at the cover region, had plenty of time to settle under and completed the catch. The replays showed that it was a knuckle delivery from the right-arm pacer.

How New Zealand struggled in the powerplay vs India in Christchurch

Unlike the opening T20I of the series, New Zealand had a struggle inside the powerplay of the second T20I at the Hagley Oval. Before Bhuvneshwar’s wicket of Mitchell, Arshdeep Singh drew the first blood with the dismissal of Tim Seifert, who was undone by the angle of the Indian left-arm pacer as the ball went high in the air and ended into the hands of Tilak. 

Just when Finn Allen looked to free his arms with a few boundaries, Prince Yadav sent back the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter for 16 runs. The Kiwis reached 43/3 in the powerplay as India showed incredible comeback from the previous game with the ball.

See Also: Watch: ‘I hope he…’ – Rohit Sharma shares his thoughts on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s comeback to India’s T20I side

Brief Scores: New Zealand 80/3 (Bevon Jacobs 26*, Prince Yadav 1/10) vs India