Tilak Varma played a pivotal role as India secured a narrow four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday, extending their series lead to 2-0. Chasing a target of 181, India overcame a precarious position of 70-5 in the 11th over and managed to reach the target with one ball to spare.
Varma was unbeaten on 51 from 26 deliveries, combining power hitting with tactical play to guide the innings. Alongside him, Nitish Kumar Reddy contributed a vital unbeaten 26 off 13 balls, striking the winning runs and helping India maintain control in the five-match series. This win mirrored India’s performance in the opening match at the same venue two days prior, where they also won by four wickets with two balls remaining.
Varma acknowledged the pressure of a mounting required run rate but said he focused on extending the innings and playing smart cricket around the spin attack before accelerating against the seamers in the closing overs. “There was definitely that intent. We wanted to push it into the gaps and run hard against the spinners. They were really crucial, those runs,” Varma noted after the match.
New Zealand’s captain Mitchell Santner was the standout bowler, claiming four wickets for 21 runs amid the Indian top order’s struggles. Santner dismissed key batsmen Abhishek Sharma (27) and Naman Dhir (31) during a middle-order collapse that left India in a vulnerable position. However, New Zealand was unable to capitalize on this advantage as India’s lower order staged a recovery.
Santner reflected on the missed opportunity to clinch the game. “I think if we got one more wicket there, it was really game over,” he said. “The way they controlled that chase, they made us make some errors at the end. Tilak and Naman Dhir and obviously Reddy at the end really played pretty well.”
New Zealand’s innings featured a resilient 70 from Glenn Phillips, who hit four sixes during his knock, and a steady 58 from Bevon Jacobs. Their partnership of 116 runs for the fourth wicket helped the hosts recover from an early loss of three wickets for 41 runs to reach 180-5. India’s seamer Arshdeep Singh was economical and effective, taking two wickets for 33 runs in his four overs.
Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, called up to replace the injured Ishan Kishan, was dismissed early for four runs. The series now shifts to Wellington, where the third T20 match is scheduled for Tuesday.