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Opener Colin Munro smashed a career-best 109 not out to help secure New Zealand's series-levelling 40-run victory in the second Twenty20 International against India, in Rajkot, on Saturday.
Munro smacked seven sixes and as many boundaries in his 58-ball blitz to help New Zealand post a commanding 196-2, in a match they needed to win to stay alive in the three-match contest.
India, who won the preceding One-day series against New Zealand, wobbled early in their chase and eventually managed 156-7 despite skipper Virat Kohli's defiant 65.
Thiruvananthapuram hosts the decider on Tuesday.
Munro and Martin Guptill gave New Zealand a flying start after skipper Kane Williamson opted to bat at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
The openers tore into the Indian attack during their 105-run stand in 11 overs.
Guptill clobbered three sixes in his breezy 45 before being dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal.
Munro brought up his fifty off 26 balls and was on 79 when Chahal dropped him at deep cover.
The opener took 54 balls to complete his second Twenty20 century.
Debutant pacer Mohammed Siraj claimed his maiden international wicket when he dismissed rival captain Kane Williamson for 12.
India's reply got off to a contrasting start. They lost in-form openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in the second over to left-arm pacer Trent Boult.
The pair, which scored 80 runs in a record opening stand of 158 in a winning cause in the series opener at Delhi, was out to poor shots, Dhawan losing his stumps when playing across to the left arm pacer and Sharma hanging his bat out loosely to be caught behind.
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer raised 54 runs for the third wicket before Munro struck, dismissing Iyer for 23.
Kohli kept India’s hopes alive with a typically aggressive innings of 65, which was studded with a six and eight fours, but the home team’s asking rate kept climbing steeply, and in the end they fell well short.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (49) struck three sixes but the mounting run rate prompted Kohli to try to accelerate and he perished in the process.
Boult claimed 4-34, while spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner also bowled tidy overs.