Tilak Varma's unbeaten 51 off 26 balls steered India to a sensational win against New Zealand in the second T20I. India successfully chased 181, taking a 2-0 series lead thanks to Tilak's clinical death-overs batting and a late-game surge.

Tilak Varma Guides India to Memorable T20I Win

Indian batter Tilak Varma continued his sensational record in run chases, pulling off a stunning death-overs acceleration to seal a memorable win against New Zealand in second T20I during a tense 181-run chase. With this performance, Tilak, despite occasional wobbles, re-affirmed his status as one of India's exciting batters during a run-chase and in slog overs.

With India down and out at 70/5 at one point chasing 181 runs, Tilak had a 42-run stand with fellow Mumbai Indians (MI) mate Naman Dhir, bringing back some hope in the changing room and went on to build on that momentum with Nitish Kumar Reddy, stitching a 69-run stand for the seventh wicket. From overs 16 to the final one, Tilak scored 41 in 17 balls. He went from being 10 in nine balls to an unbeaten 51 in 26 balls. In the 18th over, he collected two fours against Jacob Duffy, before bashing Nathan Smith for three fours and a six in the next over, collecting 18 runs. With 11 needed in the final over, Tilak started the final over with a four, setting the tone for a successful chase of a total which looked like a mountain to climb at one point.

Record-Breaking Form in the Death Overs

In overs 16-20 in T20s this year, Tilak has been absolutely exceptional, scoring 470 runs in 203 balls with a strike rate of 231.52, with 32 fours and 37 sixes and a boundary percentage of 33.99. He has been dismissed 10 times in this phase. During successful run chases, Tilak has made 533 runs in 21 matches and 19 innings at an average of 76.14 and a strike rate of 130, with four fifties and a best score of 72*.

Middle-Order Success

The left-hander has been thriving in the middle-order role since taking it up during the T20 World Cup this year. Putting aside some questionable performances even while batting at his usually preferred number three spot, Tilak has provided a lot of power and intelligence as a middle-order batter. This year at numbers five to seven, Tilak has made 600 runs in 25 matches and 24 innings at an average of 50.00 and a strike rate of 166.66, with five fifties. Overall, this year in T20Is, Tilak has made 715 runs in 32 matches and 31 innings at an average of 37.63 and a strike rate of over 153, with five fifties and a best score of 60*.

Match Summary

Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to bowl first. They had New Zealand down 41/3 within the powerplay. 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 the fourth wicket, taking NZ to 180/5 in 20 overs. Besides Arshdeep's 2/33, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy got a wicket each.

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. (ANI)

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