OCTOBER 24, 2026
Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy complete the winning run. – Getty Images
Brief Scorecard: India 181 for 6 (Tilak 51*, Dhir 31, Santner 4-21) beat New Zealand 180 for 5 (Phillips 70, Jacobs 58, Arshdeep 2-33) by four wickets
India defeated New Zealand by four wickets in a last-ball thriller in the second T20I on Saturday (Oct 24), thanks to an unbeaten half-century from Tilak Varma and a crucial partnership with Nitish Kumar Reddy. The 69-run stand between the two batters helped India recover from a middle-order collapse and chase down the target of 181 runs. The defending champions slipped from 40/0 to 112/6, with New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner claiming four wickets. However, Naman Dhir’s quickfire 31 off 17 balls, including a four and three sixes, kept India in the contest before Tilak and Nitish completed the chase.
Tilak remained unbeaten on 51 off 26 balls, while Nitish scored 26 not out off 13 deliveries. India now lead the five-match series 2-0.
Chasing 181, India lost Sanju Samson (17) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (4) early after a promising start. Abhishek Sharma scored 27 off 21 balls before Santner dismissed him in the ninth over.
India’s troubles increased as Santner removed captain Shreyas Iyer (7) and Axar Patel (11) in the same over to leave the visitors struggling at 70/5. Naman then counter-attacked with three sixes and a four before Santner ended his innings in the 15th over.
With India needing 68 runs from the final five overs, Tilak and Nitish shifted the momentum and their attacking approach brought 30 runs across the 18th and 19th overs, leaving India needing 11 from the final over.
Tilak brought up his fifty in 25 balls before Nitish sealed the victory with a double on the penultimate delivery. Santner finished with figures of 4/21.
Earlier, New Zealand recovered from 43/3 to post 180/5 in 20 overs. Glenn Phillips scored 70 off 43 balls, while Bevon Jacobs made 58 off 40 deliveries as the pair stitched together a 116-run partnership after Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Prince Yadav struck early.
Phillips and Jacobs both reached their half-centuries, but Arshdeep dismissed Phillips in the 18th over before Nitish removed Jacobs in the 19th. Arshdeep took two wickets, while Prince claimed one.
Courtesy: WION / PTI
