Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy’s unbeaten 69-run partnership off 30 balls helped India script a record chase in the final five overs of a T20I during the second match against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday, according to ESPN. India needed 68 runs from the final five overs to chase down a target of 181, with Tilak and Nitish combining to take the team to victory with one ball to spare. The 68 runs scored in the final five overs marked India’s highest successful chase during that phase of a T20I, surpassing their previous best of 60 runs against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) during the 2022 T20 World Cup. In that memorable World Cup encounter, Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 82 guided India to victory.
“I think the wicket was really challenging today. Then the challenge comes to us, you know, how we want to play smartly, and that’s how we played today. Especially if you see, it was a big ground and the surface was on the slower side. Also, when they were bowling bouncers, the ball was coming through really quickly. So it’s not easy to hit sixes whenever you want to. Honestly, if you look at the first game, it was easier to hit sixes, but this game was pretty challenging. We wanted to show our fitness levels and put our hard work into the game through those twos, singles, and running hard.
The victory gave India a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. The third match is scheduled to be played in Wellington on October 27.
Speaking about the match in a video posted on social media by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Tilak Varma said the slower pitch, large ground and sharp bouncers made hitting sixes difficult, forcing India to rely on smart batting, hard running and fitness to complete the chase. And whenever the opportunity came, we hit sixes,” he said.
But today, when I was at the crease, I wanted to attack the spinners. “But one thing, when Naman was batting, I also wanted to go for those big shots. But I had promised myself, Gautam sir and Kotak sir that I would take the game deep from now on. If you look at the last game, my mindset was slightly defensive. I wanted to take those initial singles and take the game deep. However, when Naman was hitting well, I thought I’d calm myself down and take the game deep.
Tilak Varma said he resisted the urge to play big shots while Naman Dhir was batting, sticking to his promise to head coach Gautam Gambhir and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak to take the game deep and remain patient. After that, it was God’s plan,” he said.
