Wellington, Feb. 27: All’s not well for India in Wellington. The Twenty20 world champions registered their second successive loss to hand the series 2-0 to an enthusiastic New Zealand side at the Westpac Stadium here on Friday.

One expected the Blues to come out firing on all cylinders after being humiliated in the first game at Christchuch, but they misfired badly and resembled a rickety truck on a rocky track. They had almost reached the finish line though before the wheels came off with a thud on the last ball as the hosts chased down a lowly 149 with enough fuel in the tank.

Opener Brendon McCullum was once again the hero, carrying his bat and the home side’s hopes through the innings to smack 69 not out that provided the thrust.

Famous for his savage-hitting, the Kiwi saved his best for the last as he blasted boundaries off the fourth and fifth balls of the final over before scrambling a single on the last ball of the match, even as Rohit Sharma got the tip of his fingers to the ball in a desperate attempt to grab a catch that could have tied the scores, to set off celebrations in the stands.

With 12 needed off the last over, Irfan Pathan had conceded just three from three balls before Brendon stepped on the gas.

Known to start with a bang, Brendon was unlike his usual self, hanging around the crease to build valuable 50-plus partnerships with Jesse Ryder (26) for the opening wicket and Ross Taylor (27) for the third, all the while assuring fans that he was available for the final assault. He played that role to perfection in Friday night’s blockbuster in which he faced 55 balls, sending eight to the boundary and one into the stands.

New Zealand began with a bang as Ryder pummelled Pathan’s first ball into the spectator area to set the tone. The left-hander kept whacking the balls out of sight to compile three boundaries and two sixes in a 15-ball 26 before Zaheer Khan bowled him to terminate the whirlwind opening stand of 53 in the fifth over.

Martin Guptill got a raw deal when umpire Gary Baxter ruled him out leg before even as the ball had taken the inside edge before crashing into his pads. Worse, Baxter’s finger went up a good while after the appeal had died down.

India got back into the game in the 18th over when Pathan sent back Taylor and the dangerous Jacob Oram off successive deliveries. Next over, part time bowler Yuvraj Singh claimed Neil Broom to pile pressure on the Kiwis before McCullum erupted.

India were handicapped by the absence of strike bowler Ishant Sharma, who could send down only two overs, before hurting his right shoulder in a fall.

Earlier, Yuvraj’s half-century was the only highlight of the Indian innings. The Punjab batsman slammed four sixes and three boundaries in his 50 that came off 34 balls. However, the knock was a mixed bag — there were some stunning shots as well as mis-hits that reached the fence.

Dhoni played an uncharacteristic innings. The India captain could hardly connect the ball. He took 18 balls to score a mere 8 before hitting his first boundary, which came off a juicy full toss fed by Ian Butler.