India produced an outstanding performance to beat New Zealand in the 2nd T20I match in Raipur on Friday. Having thrashed the Blackcaps in the high-scoring, the Men in Blue lead 2-0 up in the five-match series. While the action was on at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, a video featuring Hardik Pandya and Murali Kartik went viral on social media.

In the video, which seemingly was recorded by a fan from the stands ahead of the second T20I match, there was no audio, leaving the animated on-field exchange open to speculation. Hardik was seen walking onto the field in his practice kit with the bat and gloves in his hands in the viral video. He crossed paths with Kartik, who was on broadcasting duty.

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However, after exchanging greetings, the two were seen engaged in a huge conversation, with Kartik appearing to explain something and calm the Indian all-rounder. With no clarity on what was discussed or how the exchange ended, fans online speculated that the interaction was an argument. Talking about Pandya, the 32-year-old only got to display his bowling effort as he picked up one wicket for 25 runs in his three overs.


India thrashed New Zealand in Raipur

After being put into bat first, New Zealand posted a huge total of 208/6 in their 20 overs on the back of impactful contributions from Rachin Ravindra (44) and skipper Mitchell Santner (47*). For India, Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers as he took two wickets for 35 runs.

Chasing the target, the Men in Blue were reduced to 6/2 as Abhishek Sharma (0) and Sanju Samson (6) departed cheaply. The recovery was made by skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan as they thrashed the New Zealand bowlers all around the park. Both players hit their respective fifties and stitched a 122-run stand for the third wicket. This was Suryakumar's first fifty after becoming India's T20I captain in 2024, and he went on to play a match-winning knock of unbeaten 82 runs in just 37 balls, hitting nine fours and four sixes.

On the other hand, Kishan also hit his fifty on his return to the side after two years. He played an outstanding knock of 76 runs in 32 balls, hitting 11 fours and four sixes.