Suryakumar Yadav's innings was miles apart from anything else we saw today: Tim Southee

Hardik Pandya-led team India comfortably sealed a victory by 65 runs in the second of the three-match T20I series against hosts New Zealand at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. It was Suryakumar Yadav’s 111 runs off just 51 balls that propelled India to score a massive 191 runs on the board in their 20 overs.

Kiwis pace spearhead Tim Southee lavished praise on the flamboyant right-hander as he was left spellbound with the majestic knock played by the player. Southee added that 32-year-old's exceptional show was the difference in restricting India to 175-180 runs.

"Anytime a T20 player gets a hundred in a match, it's quite often the difference. You look at the rest of the side and the way we sort of batted, his innings was miles apart from anything else we saw today. Probably made them get to a score that was probably a little bit more than what we were hoping for. It was an exceptional innings and it was the difference between restricting India to 175-180 and then getting above 190," said Southee at the post-match press conference.

He's a player that can hit you and hurt you: Tim Southee

The swashbuckling right-hander constructed a vital knock for his side just when they kept losing wickets swiftly at the other end. Suryakumar blasted seven maximums and 11 fours to get his second T20I century for the national side. Despite Southee relishing a hat-trick, the pacer was left in awe of the performance and voiced on Surykumar's impact for the side.

"He's a player that can hit you and hurt you in a number of areas. He's had a great 12-18 months in IPL, international cricket. Came up against a pretty impressive knock today. The guys will reassess and come up with something for Napier," said Southee.

In the second innings, Kane Williamson and Devon Conway tried hard while stitching a 56-run stand between them but it was not enough to get them ahead in the match. The Men in Blue bowling unit then quickly scalped wickets that mounted pressure on the rival batters. Eventually, the hosts succumbed to the pressure and lost the match by a huge margin of 65 runs.