Christchurch : A 69-run stand between Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy helped India out of a massive middle-overs wobble, winning the second T20I for India by four wickets in a last ball thriller at Christchurch on Saturday.
While chasing 181 set by New Zealand, the world champions collapsed from 40/0 to 112/6, with Mitchell Santner's four-fer causing havoc in the middle overs. The hope was reinstated by a quickfire 31 in 17 balls (with a four and three sixes) by Naman Dhir, and it was Tilak (51* in 26 balls, with six fours and a six) and Nitish (26* in 13 balls, with a four and a six) who took India to victory with a ball left. India is 2-0 up in the five-match series.
During the chase of 181 runs, the Indian opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson started off playing a maiden against a dangerous Matt Henry, with the pacer managing to beat Samson's bat.
In the second over, Abhishek Sharma freed his arms, scoring a couple of fours off Jacob Duffy to end the over while Sanju thumped one over Henry's head to start the next over.
This opened the floodgates, with openers scoring a six against Henry and Lockie Ferguson each soon.
Duffy broke the 40-run partnership, removing Samson for 17 off 14 with a catch from Glenn Phillips. India was 40/1 in 4.4 overs.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was up next and was put to the test by bowlers in Kiwi conditions. He could never find that comfort, losing his wicket to Nathan Smith for an eight-ball four, with a catch to Daryl Mitchell at covers. India was 44/2 in 6.2 overs.
The Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer and Abhishek Sharma took India to the fifty-run mark in 7.1 overs. With the run flow choked, Abhishek fell to Mitch Santner for 21-ball 27, with three fours and a six, as he went for a big slog and got caught by Nathan. India was three down for 56 in 8.4 overs. Boundaries too had dried up.
On the penultimate ball of the 10th over, Axar launched Bracewell for a six over midwicket, bringing India's first boundary shot since the 4th over. Halfway through, India was 66/3 with Axar (8*) and Iyer (7*) at the crease.
The pressure continued to mount on India as Santner bowled Iyer for 11 off 7. India was 69/4 in 10.3 overs. In the same over, Santner got his third, with Axar (11 in nine balls) handing a catch to Daryl Mitchell. India was 70/5 in 10.5 overs.
Naman Dhir continued to tick India's scoreboard against spin, hitting a six against Santner in the 13th over, followed by a four and six against Bracewell in the next. India reached the 100-run mark in 13.3 overs.
Santner got his fourth, ending Naman's fightback at 31 in 17 balls, with a four and three sixes. India was 112/6 in 14.5 overs.
At the end of 15 overs, India was 113/6, with Tilak (10*) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1*) unbeaten.
A boundary and some smart doubles from Nitish in the next over brought 13 runs for India, with the world champions needing 54 in final four overs.
The 18th over saw Tilak and Nitish go big against Duffy, with Tilak getting a couple of fours and Nitish launching him for a six over mid-off to start the over. 17 runs came off the over, with India reaching 150-run mark in 17.5 overs.
Tilak continued to steer India towards a win, gathering three fours against Nathan Smith in the first four balls and ended the over with a six over deep extra over. India needed 11 in the final six overs.
After a single from Nitish, Tilak pierced through the gaps for a four, bringing down the deficit to six runs in four balls. Tilak took a double, reaching his fifty in 25 balls, with six fours and a six. India needed four runs in three balls. After a wide from Duffy, Nitish took a double, closing the match with a ball left.
India ended at 181/6, with Nitish (26 in 13 balls, with a four and a six) and Tilak (51* in 26 balls, with six fours and a six) stitching a 69-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Santner (4/21 in four overs) gave India a massive headache, but India marched a step forward towards series win.
Earlier, New Zealand recovered from an early top-order collapse through half-centuries from Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs before India's bowlers struck back late to restrict the hosts to 180/5 in 20 overs.
Glenn Phillips (70 in 46 balls, with four boundaries and sixes each) and Bevon Jacobs (58 in 46 balls, with five fours and a six) led New Zealand's recovery after an early top-order collapse against India after Kiwis were down 41/3 within powerplay, stitching a 116-run stand for fourth wicket.
After being put in to bat, New Zealand lost three wickets inside the powerplay, with India's bowlers putting the hosts under pressure.
Arshdeep Singh provided the first breakthrough in the second over, dismissing Tim Seifert for seven, who was caught by Tilak Varma. In the very next over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Daryl Mitchell (6) cheaply, while Prince Yadav dismissed opener Finn Allen for 16 with a full-length delivery in the sixth over.
New Zealand were left struggling at 43/3 after the end of the first six overs, putting the onus on Phillips and Jacobs to rebuild the innings.
India’s Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, and Nitish Reddy further tightened the screws on New Zealand’s scoring as they could only score 23 runs in the next four overs, standing at 63/3 in 10 overs.
However, the duo of Jacobs and Phillips shifted the gears, reaching 104/3 in 14 overs, countering India's bowling attack and preventing further breakthroughs.
Phillips brought up his half-century in the 16th over, reaching the milestone in 33 deliveries, while Jacobs also reached his fifty in the next over, off 40 balls as New Zealand reached 145/3 in 17 overs. The batters also brought up their 100-run stand in the same over.
Just when the hosts appeared to be taking the game away from the visitors, Arshdeep returned and got rid of Phillips (70 runs off 43 balls with four sixes and four boundaries) in the 18th over.
In the next over, bowled by Reddy, Bevon Jacobs slammed a six off the very first ball, but the bowler had the last laugh as he dismissed Jacobs on the fifth ball of the 19th over. New batter Michael Bracewell hit a six off the first ball he faced to take New Zealand’s score to 171/5 in 19 overs.
Prince Yadav bowled the last over and did well to only concede nine runs as New Zealand finished at 180/5 in overs.
For India, Arshdeep Singh registered figures of 2/33 in 4 overs, and Prince Yadav returned figures of 1/30 in 4 overs, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for runs as he conceded 50 runs for one wicket in his four-over spell.
Brief Scores: New Zealand: 180/5 (Glenn Phillips 70, Bevon Jacobs 58, Arshdeep Singh 2/38) beat India: 181/6 in 19.5 overs (Tilak Varma 51*, Naman Dhir 31, Mitchell Santner 4/21).