Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy rescue India from 112/6 to beat New Zealand by 4 wickets; India lead series 2-0
Chasing 181 in Christchurch, India won off the penultimate ball as Tilak (51*) and Reddy (26*) added an unbroken 69 despite Santner's 4/21.
Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy pulled India out of a deep hole to beat New Zealand by four wickets with one ball to spare in the second T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Saturday. Chasing 181, India were 112 for 6 in the 15th over before the pair added an unbroken 69, taking the visitors 2-0 up in the five-match series.
Tilak finished on 51 not out off 26 balls and Reddy on 26 not out off 13. Reddy clipped the winning two runs off Jacob Duffy through the leg side off the penultimate ball.
New Zealand’s recovery
India won the toss and chose to bowl, and their seamers made early inroads. Arshdeep Singh removed Tim Seifert, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had Daryl Mitchell caught, and Prince Yadav bowled Finn Allen, leaving New Zealand at 41 for 3 in the sixth over.
Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs then rebuilt with a fourth-wicket stand of 116. Phillips struck 70 off 43 balls with four fours and four sixes, while Jacobs made 58 off 46. Both fell late, Phillips to Arshdeep in the 18th over and Jacobs to Reddy in the 19th, but Michael Bracewell’s 10 off two balls lifted the hosts to 180 for 5. Arshdeep was India’s best bowler with 2 for 33.
Santner turns the screw
India’s reply started briskly before Mitchell Santner took control. Sanju Samson, the hero of the opening game, fell for 14 at 40 for 1, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, playing in place of the injured Ishan Kishan, made 4. Santner then removed Abhishek Sharma (27), captain Shreyas Iyer (7) and Axar Patel (11) in quick succession, and India slumped to 70 for 5 in the 11th over.
Naman Dhir counter-attacked with 31 off 17 balls, including three sixes, before becoming Santner’s fourth victim. The left-arm spinner finished with 4 for 21 from his four overs, by far the most economical figures of the match.
The finish
With 52 needed from the last 22 balls, New Zealand looked favourites. Tilak and Reddy kept finding the boundary, and India needed 11 off the final over from Duffy. Tilak drove a four through long off and brought up his fifty with a scrambled two, a wide followed, and Reddy finished the job.
Team news
Kishan was ruled out with an adductor strain, CricTracker reported, and wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra was added to the squad as cover. Duffy came into New Zealand’s side, according to The Tribune.
What next
India need one more win to seal the series with three games to play. New Zealand must win the next match to stay alive.
Sources
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