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).

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.

Mitchell Santner took 4/21 for the Kiwis.

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 Kiwi 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.

Scoreboard

India’s innings:

Sanju Samson c Phillips b Duffy 14; Abhishek Sharma c Smith b Santner 27; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi c Mitchell b Smith 4; Shreyas Iyer b Santner 7; Axar Patel c Mitchell b Santner 11; Tilak Varma not out 51; Naman Dhir c Phillips b Santner 31; Nitish Kumar Reddy not out 26

Extras: 10 (lb-2, nb-3, w-5)

Total: 181/6 in 19.5 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-44, 3-56, 4-69, 5-70, 6-112

Bowling: Matt Henry 2-1-11-0, Jacob Duffy 3.5-0-41-1, Lockie Ferguson 3-0-37-0, Michael Bracewell 4-0-35-0, Nathan Smith 3-0-34-1, Mitchell Santner 4-0-21-4.

New Zealand’s innings:

Tim Seifert c Tilak b Arshdeep 7; Finn Allen b Prince 16; Daryl Mitchell c Tilak b Bhuvneshwar 6; Glenn Phillips c Dhir b Arshdeep 70; Bevon Jacobs c Axar b Reddy 56; Mitchell Santner not out 4; Michael Bracewell not out 10. Extras: 9 (lb-1, nb-1, w-7)

Total: 180/5 in 20 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-18, 3-41, 4-157, 5-165

India bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-50-1, Arshdeep Singh 4-0-33-2, Prince Yadav 4-0-30-1, Naman Dhir 1-0-7-0, Axar Patel 4-0-28-0, Nitish Kumar Reddy 3-0-31-1.

India won the toss and elected to bowl against New Zealand in the second T20 International in Christchurch on Saturday (October 24, 2026).

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.

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.

Published – October 24, 2026 12:20 pm IST