New Delhi: Ishan Kishan finally returned to form in the second T20I match against New Zealand in Raipur on Saturday. Kishan, didn’t have a memorable outing in the series opener in Nagpur after departing for just 8 runs, slammed the fastest fifty by an Indian batter against New Zealand in the shortest format.

Smashing a half-century in just 21 balls, Kishan broke Abhishek Sharma’s fastest fifty record in 22 balls which the southpaw had made in the series opener. Abhishek had surpassed the joint record held by KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, both of whom had scored a half-century against the Kiwis in T20Is in 23 balls and held the record for a long time.

But it was just a matter of a lone game that Abhishek’s record was surpassed by Kishan, who set the Raipur stadium on fire with his flamboyant hitting. The dashing batter, though, missed out on a well-deserved century after being dismissed for 76 runs off 32 balls in a tough chase for the hosts in which they lost Abhishek and Sanju Samson quickly in the innings.

In his power-packed knock, Kishan smashed 11 boundaries and 4 sixes pushing the Kiwi bowlers against the wall. Along with this big feat, Ishan also registered the second highest score by an Indian batter in powerplay smashing Abhishek’s record against England in 2025.

50+ scores by non-openers in Powerplay (FM teams)

60(27) Dion Myers vs Rwanda Nairobi 2024
56(23) Ishan Kishan vs NZ Raipur 2026
51(29) Josh Inglis vs WI Basseterre 2025

Earlier in the game, Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner helped the Kiwis put up 208 runs on the board after a disciplined attack from the Indian bowling unit. Santner played a flamboyant knock towards the last stages of the contest to help the side cross the 200-run mark. India had won the toss and opted to bat first in the second match of the series.