Christchurch: Tilak Varma smacked 51 not out as India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the second T20I to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series in Christchurch on Saturday (October 24, 2026).
The Rescue Act
Chasing 180, India slipped to 112 for six in the 15th over but Tilak turned the tables on New Zealand, scoring 51 not out off 26 balls with six fours and a six. Nitish Kumar Reddy made a valuable 26 not out and hit the winning runs, as India finished on 181/6 in 19.5 overs.
Mitchell Santner was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with 4/21.
Phillips and Jacobs Rally New Zealand
Earlier, Arshdeep Singh returned 2/33 before Glenn Phillips (70) and Bevon Jacobs (56) powered New Zealand to 180/5 in the first innings. The two batters added 116 runs for the fourth wicket after New Zealand were reduced to 41 for three inside the powerplay.
Phillips hit four sixes and four fours to make 70 off 43 balls, while Jacobs hit five fours and a six to make 56 from 46 balls. For India, Arshdeep was the pick among the bowlers, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy took one wicket each.
Team Changes
India won the toss and elected to bowl. India made two changes, replacing injured Ishan Kishan with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, while Prince Yadav came in for Mayank Yadav. For New Zealand, Jacob Duffy came in for Adam Milne.
Brief Scores
New Zealand: 180/5 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 70, Bevon Jacobs 56; Arshdeep Singh 2/33, Prince Yadav 1/30, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/50, Nitish Kumar Reddy 1/31)
India: 181/6 in 19.5 overs (Tilak Varma 51 not out, Naman Dhir 31, Abhishek Sharma 27, Nitish Kumar Reddy 26 not out; Mitchell Santner 4/21, Jacob Duffy 1/41, Nathan Smith 1/34)
Toss: India elected to bowl.
Teams
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson.
