Victorious Virat Kohli's inspiring message on Republic Day: 'Stronger Together'

Team India and skipper Virat Kohli gifted the nation with a win on its 71st Republic Day as the Men in Blue beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20 at Eden Park on Sunday. Chasing a low target of 133 runs, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer propelled Team India's chase, allowing the visitors to go 2-0 up in the five-match series. An enthusiastic and patriotic Virat Kohli took to social media to greet the Indian fans on Republic Day and conveyed his wishes to them along with an inspirational message that resonated the importance of unity as a side. 

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Virat Kohli's inspirational message

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KL Rahul - India's ever-consistent batsman

Consistency could just have another word and it can be none other than KL Rahul. The spectacular opener scored his 11th T20 fifty to help India cross the line in the run-chase in the 2nd T20. Rahul remained unbeaten at 57 runs off 50 deliveries and had smashed three fours and two sixes in the innings. Shreyas Iyer, who registered a fifty-run plus partnership with KL Rahul, provided the stage for the opener to accelerate while he settled and took over once he found fine touch. Shreyas Iyer's knock of 44 runs came off 33 deliveries and was laced with three huge sixes and one four. Shivam Dube finished the match off in style for India with a huge six over long-on, helping India clinch yet another win.    

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Bowlers struggle, batsmen try making amends

The conditions at Eden Park tested every player from both sides, with the batsmen struggling to go big. The bowlers, on the other hand, found the conditions to be helpful to them, if not in their favour. Among the Indian bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami were the economical ones while the others were taken on by the Kiwi batsmen. Ravindra Jadeja picked up two imp[ortant scalps in the innings, while Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur added one wicket each to their name. The Kiwi bowlers on the other hand, struck two early blows, as they got rid of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early in the run-chase. However, they did not have an answer to stop the duo of KL Rahul-Shreyas Iyer and lost the match ultimately with 15 balls to spare.

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