Tilak Varma's 51 Not Out Rescues India From 70/5 in Christchurch
Mitchell Santner's 4 for 21 had India in trouble, but Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy got them home with one ball left to go 2-0 up.
India beat New Zealand by four wickets with one ball to spare in the second T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on 24 October, and went 2-0 up in the series.
The scorecard in short
| | Score | |---|---| | New Zealand | 180/5 (20 overs) | | India | 181/6 (19.5 overs) |
New Zealand: Phillips and Jacobs rebuild
India won the toss and chose to bowl, and New Zealand were 40/3 in the sixth over. Glenn Phillips (70 from 43 balls) and Bevon Jacobs (58 from 46) then added 116 for the fourth wicket. Arshdeep Singh took 2 for 33.
India: from 70/5 to the line
Mitchell Santner took 4 for 21 and India slid to 70/5 in the 11th over. Tilak Varma stayed. He added 42 with Naman Dhir (31 from 17), then an unbroken 69 with Nitish Kumar Reddy (26 not out from 13), and finished on 51 not out from 26 balls. Tilak was player of the match.
What came next
India won again in Wellington three days later and sealed the series. Report from the third T20I.