India beat New Zealand in last-over 2nd T20I as Tilak Varma and Nitish Reddy seal chase

India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the second T20I at Christchurch on October 24, reaching a target of 181 with one ball to spare. Tilak Varma made an unbeaten 51 from 26 balls and Nitish Kumar Reddy finished 26 not out as their seventh-wicket stand turned a difficult chase into a last-over win.

New Zealand scored 180/5 at Hagley Oval before India finished on 181/6 in 19.5 overs. The result puts India 2-0 ahead in the five-match series.

How India won the final over

India needed 11 runs from the last six balls, with Tilak and Reddy at the crease. Reddy took a single from Jacob Duffy’s first delivery, and Tilak struck the next ball for four. He ran two from the third delivery to bring up his half-century, then took a single to leave Reddy on strike.

Duffy sent down a wide, reducing the target to two runs from two balls. Reddy flicked the next delivery into a gap, and the pair completed two runs to win the match.

That finish followed a sharp acceleration late in the innings. India were 112/6 when Naman Dhir fell in the 15th over, still needing 69 runs. Tilak and Reddy added exactly 69 without losing another wicket. Tilak had entered at No. 6 and stayed to finish the chase; Reddy scored his 26 from just 13 balls.

India recover after Santner’s four wickets

India had been 70/5 in the 11th over after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner disrupted the middle order. The left-arm spinner took 4/21, dismissing Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Dhir.

Dhir’s 31 from 17 balls helped India regain momentum before he became Santner’s fourth wicket. Tilak then found support from Reddy, and the pair lifted the scoring rate when India had little room left for another setback. Tilak was named player of the match.

Earlier, New Zealand had recovered from 41/3. Glenn Phillips made 70 from 43 balls and Bevon Jacobs scored 58 from 46, sharing a 116-run fourth-wicket partnership. Michael Bracewell added 10 from two balls at the end of the innings to take the hosts to 180/5.

Arshdeep Singh took two wickets for India, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav and Reddy took one each. Reddy’s wicket was Jacobs, giving him a contribution in both innings.

India also won the first T20I in Christchurch by four wickets. The teams next meet in Wellington on October 27 for the third match of the series.