India defeated New Zealand by four wickets in the second T20 international on Saturday. The victory gave India a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, with three matches remaining.
Tilak Varma starred with an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls. Nitish Kumar Reddy also remained unbeaten, scoring 26 from just 13 deliveries. Together, they guided India home with one ball remaining after a tense chase.
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India struggled at 112-6 after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner claimed four wickets for 21 runs. However, Varma and Reddy steadied the innings with an unbeaten 69-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Their stand established a new Indian record for the highest seventh-wicket partnership in T20 internationals.
Earlier, New Zealand recovered from 41-3 to post 180-5 after batting first. Glenn Phillips led the recovery with 70 runs off 43 balls, including four sixes. He recorded his second consecutive half-century and shared a 116-run fourth-wicket partnership with Bevon Jacobs, who scored 58 off 46 deliveries.
India’s Arshdeep Singh took two wickets for 33 runs in four overs. Meanwhile, Santner’s impressive spell brought New Zealand back into the contest. India needed 69 runs from the final five overs, while Naman Dhir contributed 31 off 17 balls before Santner dismissed him.
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Varma then attacked during the closing overs, finding boundaries and clearing the ropes. Reddy supported him with aggressive batting, including a six off Jacob Duffy. India entered the final over needing 11 runs to win. Varma reduced the target before Reddy scored the winning runs with a two off Duffy’s fifth delivery.
After the match, Santner said missed fielding opportunities and no-balls had hurt New Zealand. India captain Shreyas Iyer praised Varma, Reddy and Dhir for their contributions under pressure. Varma, named Player of the Match, said rotating the strike against spin helped him build his innings before attacking the faster bowlers.