Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s comeback ends in disappointment during 2nd T20I against New Zealand – Watch

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s return to the Indian XI did not go as planned, with the 15-year-old failing to make a big impact in the second T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s return to the Indian XI came after a long wait on the sidelines as he missed all five T20Is against the West Indies and the first match of the ongoing series against New Zealand. His last appearance for India came in the 2026 Asian Games final against Pakistan, where India won the gold medal.Sooryavanshi earned his opportunity after Ishan Kishan suffered a right adductor strain during the opening match, ruling him out of the second match. However, the youngster could manage just four runs from eight deliveries before he got to Nathan Smith, putting India in run trouble.

Sooryavanshi fails to impress

Smith angled a hard pitch over the left-hander, who attempted an expansive drive but couldn’t find the center of his bat. The ball flew fast and low to cover where Daryl Mitchell made a sharp catch to send the youngster back into the pavilion.

New Zealand first innings summary

New Zealand posted 180/5 in their 20 overs after being asked to bat first, setting India a target of 181. The hosts built their innings through contributions across the batting order, putting pressure on the Indian bowlers.India were struggling at 83/5 after 12 overs with Sooryavanshi and Shreyas Iyer falling between the wickets.New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Tim Seifert(w), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie FergusonIndia (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav