India beat New Zealand by four wickets in second T20I as Tilak Varma stars
Tilak Varma hit 51 not out off 26 balls as India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the second T20I at Hagley Oval to take a 2-0 series lead
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India's Tilak Varma in action during the second T20 international against England at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, India, on January 25, 2025.
Reuters/File
India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the second T20I at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on Saturday, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 51 off 26 balls and Nitish Kumar Reddy’s 26 not out sealed a chase of 181 from 70-5 with one ball remaining.
How did India beat New Zealand in the second T20I?
India slipped to 70-5 in the 11th over and 112-6 while chasing 181, with Mitchell Santner taking four wickets. Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy then scored 68 runs in the final 4.5 overs, with Varma hitting four boundaries in the penultimate over from Nathan Smith.
Varma struck an unbeaten 51 off 26 deliveries, while Reddy contributed 26 not out from 13 balls and finished the chase with the winning runs.
New Zealand captain Santner had put India under pressure with four wickets for 21 runs. He dismissed opener Abhishek Sharma for 27 and Naman Dhir for 31 as the visitors slipped to 112-6.
Sanju Samson, who scored a rapid 67 in the series opener, fell cheaply in the second match. Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who came in for the injured Ishan Kishan for his 10th T20 appearance, made four before being caught in the infield off Smith.
How did New Zealand score 180-5 in the second T20I?
Glenn Phillips led New Zealand’s recovery from 41-3, scoring 70 off 43 balls to help the hosts post 180-5. His innings included four sixes.
Bevon Jacobs added an unbeaten 58 and shared a 116-run fourth-wicket partnership with Phillips. Arshdeep Singh was India’s most successful bowler, taking two wickets for 33 runs in his four overs.
What is the series score between India and New Zealand?
India also won the opening match by four wickets at the same venue on Thursday, chasing down a target of 226 with two balls to spare. The second chase proved far more challenging, against a New Zealand attack that had improved considerably from the first game.
The third match of the series will be played in Wellington on Tuesday.
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