India stunned New Zealand with a four-wicket win in the second T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday, October 24.
Delving into the details of the game, New Zealand batted first and posted a whopping total of 180/5 in 20 overs. Glenn Phillips (70) and Bevon Jacobs (58) were the top batters in the first innings. Arshdeep Singh scalped two wickets.
In the chase, India took 19.5 overs to seal the deal with four wickets in hand. Tilak Varma (51*), Naman Dhir (31) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (26*) were impressive in the second innings as India took a 2-0 lead in the five-game series.
On that note, let’s take a look at who said what after India’s win in the second T20I.
Shreyas Iyer, India captain:
Every individual is a match-winner, and we got an example of it. When we lost consecutive wickets, thought the game was going away from us. Nitish and Tilak showed great character. Dhir also played a crucial innings. He (Dhir) is a phenomenal bowler too, and he brings in a lot of character. He is a comprehensive player. We played a lot of dot balls initially and that piled up the run-rate. When we went in, we wanted to cruise but they (NZ spinners) bowled beautifully. If we would have picked gaps and got boundaries, we could have cruised. (On the fielding) The message was to anticipate every ball that is coming to you, so that the opposition thinks twice about running twos.
Mitchell Santner, New Zealand captain:
They played very well, and if we had gotten one more wicket (we could have won). They set up the chase really well. The way the guys started, it was outstanding. If they get off to a flier, it is tough. We did well to pull them back. Couple of No balls, a No ball wicket, stuff like that hurts (you). Those little moments, in the field or sloppy moments, that have hurt us a little. GP (Phillips) has done it for a long time now. Even Bevon. They played the situation really well. Kind of surface where if you spend time, you can cash in later. (On Henry’s injury) Think it is precautionary and Lockie went off too. With the quick turnaround, there could be a little bit of rotation.
Tilak Verma, Player of the Match:
(Thoughts when he went in) I was just thinking about playing till the end. Before today’s game, I was talking to Gautam sir and Kotak sir – that whole India believes in you and that if I bat till the end, we can win. Really proud of myself. I was saying to Naman that we can stay till the end. Wicket was slower. I was telling Naman we will push hard when the spinners were bowling. Unfortunately, Naman got out in Mitchell’s last over. Otherwise, we could have won in the 18th. Hyderabadi guys (got together) after it, and I am glad we (Nitish and me) could finish the game. (On waiting for pace to attack) There was a plan like that. 4-5 doubles we got off the spinners and it was really crucial. We need that pace on this huge ground, and we finished off in style.
