[WATCH] IND vs NZ 2026: Suryakumar Yadav touches throwdown specialist Raghu's feet after India's win

Moments after guiding India to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second T20I at Raipur, skipper Suryakumar Yadav walked straight to the dugout and touched the feet of team throwdown

specialist Raghu, appreciating the man who stood by him during his toughest phase.

The Men in Blue chased down a target of 209 with ease at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The win came on the back of a solid batting display by Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan. The post-match act by the Indian captain for the long-standing support staff member quickly went viral. Raghu, India’s throwdown specialist, played a crucial role during SKY’s lean patch, working with him in the nets.

Watch the video below:

#TeamIndia ತಂಡದ ಆಧಾರಸ್ತಂಭಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರಾದ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ Raghu ಅವರ ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದ ಪಡೆದ Suryakumar Yadav. ವಿನಯವೇ ಯಶಸ್ಸಿನ ಮೊದಲ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲು! ❤️🙏

📺 ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ | #INDvNZ 👉 3rd T20I |SUN, 25 JAN, 6:00 PM | ನಿಮ್ಮ Star Sports ಕನ್ನಡ & JioHotstar ನಲ್ಲಿ. pic.twitter.com/uc4FInBz81

— Star Sports Kannada (@StarSportsKan) January 24, 2026

Suryakumar smashes first T20I fifty after 463 days

In the match, chasing 209, the hosts lost two wickets inside the first two overs. However, Kishan and Suryakumar constructed a crucial partnership, which took India over the line. Surya smashed an unbeaten 82 off just 37 balls, lacing his innings with nine boundaries and four sixes.

The 122-run stand between the two completely collapsed New Zealand’s bowling attack. Even after Kishan fell for a record 76, Suryakumar ensured to hold one end, finishing the chase with 28 balls to spare. The knock recorded his first T20I fifty in over a year.

"We are going to bowl first. There is already little bit of dew out there, we haven't chased in recent times, so we want to chase. I think it (the pitch) looks good. I think it's the same wicket they said, which was used for the ODI series. I think we play every game, we try and improve on all the aspects. We never get perfect. We are always learning. But yeah, we look to do the same things again. We try and do the same thing in the bowling department, fielding and batting. We have two changes - Axar is missing out because he got hit in the last game. And Bumrah is resting tonight. So Harshit and Kuldeep come in," Surya said at the post-match interview.