||Desk Report|| 

India equal the three-match T20 series 1-1 in New Zealand beating the hosts by seven wickets in the second T20 held in Auckland on Friday.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma scored a half-century after becoming the leading run-scorer in the T20 cricket. After winning the toss, Kiwis elected to bat first and managed to score 158 for eight in within 20 overs. India completed chased down the target and completed within 19 overs.

New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell lbw brings DRS back in the spotlight. Daryl Mitchell was given out lbw off Krunal Pandya despite HotSpot showing a clear mark as the ball passed the inside edge. The on-field decision from umpire Chris Brown was out but it was challenged almost immediately. The replays handed to the third umpire offered two differing perspectives. Snicko did not show a spike as the ball went past the bat, but HotSpot revealed a clear white mark on the inside edge. Ball-tracking also showed a deviation as the ball passed bat.

Left to make the final call, TV umpire Shaun Haig upheld the original decision once the ball was shown to be on track to hit the stumps. The incident highlighted DRS' dependency on human decision-making abilities, much in contrast to what the system set out to achieve when it was first introduced.

However, With captain Rohit’s 50 off 29 and Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 40 off 28 gives India a series-equalizing win.  Among the others Shikhar Dhawan scored 30 off 31, Vijay Shankar scored 14 off 8 and MS Dhoni scored 20* off 17 for India.

Earlier, Colin de Grandhomme’s 50 off 28 and Ross Taylor’s 42 off 36 lead the hosts to score 158 for 8. Spinner Krunal Pandya claimed three wickets for India, while Khaleel Ahmed clinched in with two in the final over. Krunal dismissed Colin Munro (12) and skipper Kane Williamson (20) to peg the Black Caps back. The final and series decider T20 will kick off on February 10 in Hamilton.

Brief scores

New Zealand: 158/8 in (19 overs)

Colin de Grandhomme 50, Taylor 42; Krunal 3-28