Cricket News / Ind Vs NZ: Mitchell Santner's 4-21 Not Enough as India Overcome 70/5 to Win at Hagley Oval

Christchurch, Oct 24: Tilak Varma produced another match-winning performance to steer India to a hard-fought four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday.

With India struggling at 70/5 after 10.5 overs while chasing a challenging target of 181, Tilak struck an unbeaten 51 off just 26 balls to turn the match around. India completed the chase with one ball to spare.

Nitish Kumar Reddy also put up a crucial and unbeaten hand of 26 from 13 balls and hit the winning runs for India on the second-to-last ball off Jacob Duffy to help the visitors achieve a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

This overpowered Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips' efforts, who had put New Zealand in strong positions. Santner displayed a stellar effort of 4-21 as spinners received great help from the surface, and even the speedsters gained from the slowness of the surface, which was the same as the opening match of the series, which saw India chase down 226. This time, the used surface gripped, with batters finding it hard to score.

Earlier, Phillips had scored a crucial 70 from 43 balls, while Bevon Jacobs had made 58 from 46 deliveries to take the team to a strong total of 180/5 on a tricky surface.

India began the chase with eight straight dot balls as Matt Henry bowled a maiden first over to Sanju Samson, beating his bat thrice in the six balls. The visitors were off to a mark on the ninth ball when Abhishek Sharma miscued Jacob Duffy at deep point.

Abhishek could well have been dismissed for just one had Duffy not overstepped in the second over, as the Indian opener was caught out at deep square by Nathan Smith, only for the umpire to raise his hand for a no-ball.

Abhishek hit a four on the next ball, and that kick-started India's chase as they raced to 37/0 from four overs after a maiden first over.

However, the helpful conditions for the bowlers were soon on display when Duffy got Samson for 14 on a slower ball, caught at cover. Returnee Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could not make much of an impact as he fell on four from eight balls to Nathan Smith, with Daryl Mitchell taking a sharp catch at cover.

New Zealand captain Santner came into his own and removed Abhishek in the first over he bowled, as the batter could not clear the long, deep mid-wicket. Santner put the visitors in further hole when he got Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel in the same 11th over, as the Men in Blue were in big trouble at 71/5 after 11 overs.

In-form Naman Dhir put up a decent fight, and although he was dropped by Bevon Jacobs at point, which was a sitter, he gave hope to India for a chase. The all-rounder made 31 from 17 balls, and although most of the other batters struggled, he looked good, including against Michael Bracewell, whom he hit for a six and a four in the 14th over.

However, Santner got Dhir in his final over to complete his four-wicket haul, and it became even more difficult for India. Nitish Kumar Reddy joined Tilak Varma in the middle, and the two did not give up.

With 46 needed off 18 balls, Nitish and Tilak took 17 runs from Duffy's third over to keep India alive. Tilak hit back-to-back fours on the first two balls of the 18th over, with Glenn Phillips misfielding one at deep mid-wicket.

The Indian vice-captain showed nerves of steel with a crucial pulled four and a six to end the over as the equation was brought to 11 off the final six balls.

Duffy came for the final over with the hosts penalised for a slow over rate and forced to bring one extra fielder inside the 30-yard circle. Tilak drilled the bowler for a four through covers on the second ball and completed his fifty on the next ball with a couple.

Also Read: Arshdeep Breaks Bhuvneshwar’s Record for Most T20I Wickets in a Calendar Career

Tilak was disappointed with Nitish for not running a close second run, but Nitish finished things with a double towards the deep backward square leg on the second-to-last ball to finish the game.

Earlier, Phillips and Bevon Jacobs put up impressive half-centuries to lead New Zealand to a decent total of 180/5.

New Zealand recovered from a shaky start at 41/3 in 5.2 overs, with Glenn Phillips (70 off 43 balls) and Bevon Jacobs (58 off 46) stitching together a 116-run partnership for the fourth wicket in the second T20I. The match was played at the same venue and on the same pitch as the high-scoring series opener.

However, the surface offered greater assistance to bowlers this time, making it difficult for batters to score freely against hard lengths. India’s bowlers capitalised on the conditions, particularly during the powerplay and at the death.

Arshdeep Singh claimed two wickets as New Zealand finished on 180/5. The total appeared competitive, but ultimately proved insufficient to prevent India from winning the match.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 180/5 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 70, Bevon Jacobs 58; Arshdeep Singh 2-33, Prince Yadav 1-30) lose to India (Tilak Varma 51, Naman Dhir 31; Mitchell Santner 4-21, Nathan Smith 1-34) by four wickets

(IANS)