Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy rescue chase as India beat New Zealand to go 2-0 up in T20I series

India came back from the brink to beat New Zealand by four wickets in the second T20 International at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

New Zealand rebuild

Captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bowl, and India's seamers struck early. Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Prince Yadav each took wickets in the powerplay, and New Zealand were 44 for 3 after six overs.

Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs then put on 116 for the fourth wicket. Phillips made 70 off 43 balls and Jacobs also reached a half-century, helped by a drop at mid-off, as New Zealand finished on 180 for 5. Arshdeep was the pick of India's bowlers with two wickets.

Santner's spell and a late turnaround

India's chase began slowly, with Matt Henry bowling a maiden first over. Abhishek Sharma made 27 before New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner turned the game with his left-arm spin, removing Abhishek, Iyer and Axar Patel on his way to 4 for 21. Naman Dhir made a brisk 31, but when he fell India were 112 for 6, still needing close to 70 from the last five overs.

Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy then shared an unbroken stand of 69. They took 17 runs from Jacob Duffy's third over, leaving 11 to get from the final over. Tilak brought up his fifty off 25 balls in that over and finished on 51 not out from 26, while Reddy, unbeaten on 26 from 13, sealed the win with a two off the penultimate ball.

New Zealand were also penalised for a slow over rate, which forced them to keep an extra fielder inside the circle for the last over.

Next up

India also won the series opener, chasing down 225. The third match is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, at Sky Stadium in Wellington. India were without Ishan Kishan, ruled out with a groin strain, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi coming into the side.