NZ vs IND

The two highest successful T20I run chases in Christchurch now belong to India, tracked down 226 a couple of nights ago and tonight a thriller to track down 182. They have done it back-to-back and India will move out of here with a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series. The action shifts to Wellington now for the third T20I which will be played on 27th October, hopefully it is as good as Christchurch was. Time for us to scoot off now, this is Sourabh Agrawal signing off on behalf of Pradeep and the team here at SK. Cheers!

Shreyas Iyer (India captain): I feel that every individual in our team is a match winner and today we saw an example of that. Honestly speaking, when we lost back-to-back wickets, we thought the game was slipping away from us but then Tilak and Nitish showed great character  and also an outstanding cameo from Naman Dhir as well. (on Naman Dhir) We saw him in a couple of games back home against West Indies, he is a phenomenal bowler as well and bring in a lot of character. When you see him moving around in the field too, he is just a comprehensive player. (thoughts about the chase and the NZ spinners) We played a lot of dot balls initially which piled up the pressure. We wanted to cruise but they bowled amazingly, Bracewell and Santner, the way they controlled the ball. It was not easy to strike the ball but if we looked to find the boundaries by picking the gaps we would have still cruised. Unfortunate though, it happens and hopefully we can bounce back. (on their fielding) That is the message that has been passed on to everyone, got to anticipate every ball that comes to you so that the opponents think twice before running twos. Still job half done

Mitchell Santner (New Zealand captain): [On the fine margins that decided the game] “Yeah, it is what it is. When you play against a very good team, games are always going to be decided by fine margins. Tilak and Naman, followed by Reddy at the end, played really well. I think if we'd taken one more wicket, the game would have been pretty much over. They controlled the chase well and forced us into a few errors towards the end. It was a real nip-and-tuck contest.” [On the bowling performance and missed opportunities] “I thought the guys were outstanding with the ball at the start. When you're defending a score of 180, if the opposition gets off to a flyer in the powerplay, it becomes pretty tough. I thought we did well to pull things back, and Beast was bowling extremely well through the middle overs. It was nice to pick up a few wickets. “But a couple of no-balls, including a wicket off a no-ball, hurt us along the way. From a skills point of view, we've been very good over the last two games. It's just those little moments, whether in the field or a few sloppy errors, that can end up hurting us.” [On the batting partnership between Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips] “GB has been doing it for a long time now, and I thought Bev played the situation beautifully as well. We lost three early wickets, but they built the innings nicely. We were only around 60 after 10 overs, but on a surface like this, if you give yourself time and get a few balls under your belt, you can cash in. With the power those two have, I thought they played it really well. “I blocked a couple of balls towards the end, but Beast came in and got us those 10 runs off two balls to take us to 180. That was really important.” [On Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson going off the field] “I think it's precautionary. Lockie went off as well, so hopefully both of them pull up okay. With the quick turnaround in this series and the one-dayers, there could be some rotation. I think that's just something we're going to have to manage.”

Tilak Varma is the Player of the Match! Here's what he has to say: [On his mindset after walking in with the team in trouble] “I was just thinking about batting till the end. Before today's game, I spoke with Gautam sir and Bhattacharya sir, and they told me that everyone in the team believes in me, and the whole of India believes in me. They said that if I batted till the end, I could win the game for us. That stayed in my mind throughout the innings. I wanted to take the game as deep as possible, and I'm really proud that I could deliver on that belief.” [On the partnership with Naman Dhir] “I told Naman that we'd stay together till the end. The pitch was a little slower than in the previous game, so our plan was to push hard with our running between the wickets, especially against the spinners. We did that really well, and unfortunately, Naman got out in Mitchell Santner's final over. Otherwise, I think we could have finished the game in the 18th over. “Credit goes to Naman as well for the way he batted. The Hyderabad boys, Nitish Reddy and I, were out there towards the end, and we're really happy that we managed to finish the game.” [On managing the spinners before taking on the pace bowlers] “Definitely, we had a plan to wait for the pace at the end. We wanted to show intent whenever the spinners bowled in our hitting arc, but otherwise, the idea was to find the gaps and run hard. We managed four or five twos against the spinners, which gave us those crucial eight to ten runs. I think we played that phase smartly. “Later, we knew we could target the fast bowlers because the pace would help us on this big ground. We waited for that opportunity, and we finished the game in style.”

11:42 PM local time (4:12 PM IST): MATCH SUMMARY

India (181/6 in 19.5 overs) beat New Zealand (180/5 in 20 overs) by 4 wickets

Tilak Verma 51*(26) | Arshdeep Singh 2/33(4)
Glenn Phillips 70(43) | Mitchell Santner 4/21(4)

A 180 plays 180 thriller in Christchurch, pretty much what was needed after the overdose of all the run fests we have had in the recent past and India once again show their class, depth, talent and more importanly the nerves to go past the finish line to script a stunning turnaround claiming a 2-0 lead in this 5-match series

Tilak Verma with yet another run chasing masterclass, a supreme half-century for the Indian vice captain and he combined with the ever so talented Nitish Kumar Reddy (26* off 13) with an unbeaten 69-run partnership to pull India out of a hole at 112/6 when it looked like NZ were going to level the series.

There has been a lot of talk about India playing the extra batting option at number 8 and now for two games in a row that number 8 has turned out to be the difference

It was a tricky pitch to bat on, not one of those where you come in and start swinging from ball one. New Zealand were brilliant with the ball for most parts of it, specially captain Santner who broke the back of the Indian run chase bowling a good old classical spell of left-arm spin with figures of 4/21 and it looked like India had nowhere to go

Tilak held one end up, he kept picking the twos to keep the scorecard ticking even though when he lost partners at the other end. Then he got the company of Naman Dhir who once again showed his talent with a 17-ball 31 before Santner lured him out

But the match was still New Zealand's when TIlak and NKR, two Hyderabad boys, got together at 112/6 and went on to form the highest 7th wicket parntership for India in T20Is. They kept the scorecard ticking, timed it to perfection and in the end sealed a scintillating comeback win which will be remembered for a long time, that is for sure.

19.5 Jacob Duffy to Nitish Kumar Reddy, THAT'S IT! INDIA MAKE IT TWO IN TWO! New Zealand are ahead for the large part of the game, but this is a stunning comeback of the highest order from India and win the game in the end. Low full toss on the pads, Reddy flicked it behind square and they get back for a brace. Spare a thought for Santner's spell, Tilak and Reddy doing it for the team.

19.5 Jacob Duffy to Nitish Kumar Reddy, WIDE! Sharp bumper, Reddy backing away to ramp and misses. Square-leg umpire immediately signals that a wide.

19.4 Jacob Duffy to N. Tilak Varma, short outside the off-stump, Tilak scythes it to deep covers, doesn't carry to the fielder and they get just one.

A stunning 25-ball fifty for Tilak Verma, India's vice captain! The job is still left though, his teammates stand up and applaud. 4 needed off 3 balls

19.3 Jacob Duffy to N. Tilak Varma, OH! FIFTY FOR TILAK! What an outstanding innings under pressure. Short outside the off-stump, Tilak pulled it past the bowler, they hare back for a brace.

19.2 Jacob Duffy to N. Tilak Varma, FOUR! SHOT! Tilak has turned this game on it's head for India and are just one hit away now. Overpitched outside the off-stump, Tilak absolutely belted it in the gap, through extra-cover and races away.

10 off 5, more discussions in the NZ camp. Santner has a chat with Duffy, Mitchell also in attendance. Third man is coming up, the four men out are deep point, deep cover, deep mid-wicket and long-on

19.1 Jacob Duffy to Nitish Kumar Reddy, banged in short, Reddy pulled firmly to deep mid-wicket, but finds the fielder on the bounce for just one. Brings Tilak back on strike.