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Tilak and Nitish rescue India from 70 for five to beat New Zealand and go 2-0 up
An unbroken stand of 69, India's highest for the seventh wicket in T20Is, took them to 181 with a ball to spare at Hagley Oval after Mitchell Santner's four for 21 had the hosts on top.
Key points
- India won the second T20I by four wickets with one ball left, chasing 181.
- Tilak Varma made 51 not out off 26 balls and Nitish Kumar Reddy 26 not out off 13.
- Their unbroken stand of 69 is India's best for the seventh wicket in T20Is.
Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy pulled India out of a hole at Hagley Oval on Saturday, adding an unbroken 69 for the seventh wicket to chase down 181 with one ball to spare and beat New Zealand by four wickets. India now lead the five-match T20I series 2-0.
When Mitchell Santner had India at 70 for five in the 11th over, the hosts were firmly in charge. The New Zealand captain had removed Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, and finished with four for 21, the best figures of the match. He ended on the losing side all the same.
How the chase turned
Sanju Samson and Abhishek put on 40 for the first wicket before Samson, on 14, was undone by a slower ball from Jacob Duffy. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, brought in for the injured Ishan Kishan and sent in at No. 3, made 4 off eight balls. Santner then took over, and the asking rate climbed.
Naman Dhir, the hero of Thursday’s record chase, struck 31 off 17 balls to keep India in touch, before Santner had him as well. That left Tilak and Nitish to find nearly 70 with the pressure on.
They did it without fuss. Tilak, who came in at No. 6, reached an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls, and Nitish made 26 not out off 13. Nitish hit the winning runs off the penultimate ball of the match.
Their stand is India’s highest for the seventh wicket in T20Is, beating the 63 that Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya added against New Zealand in 2019.
New Zealand’s recovery
New Zealand had their own rescue act earlier in the day. Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl, and Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Prince Yadav reduced the hosts to 41 for three inside the powerplay.
Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs then added 116 for the fourth wicket. Phillips made 70 off 43 balls with eight fours and four sixes, his second straight fifty against India, and Jacobs 58 off 46. Michael Bracewell hit a four and a six off the only two balls he faced to lift the total to 180 for five.
Before the match Iyer had said, “It is important to maintain the aggression and repeat the things we did well in the first game.” India won Thursday’s opener by chasing 226, their highest successful T20I chase, and on Saturday they found a different way to get home.
What comes next
The series moves to Wellington for the third match on Tuesday, 27 October, with India one win from sealing it. The last two games are in Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November.