Nitish Kumar Reddy added 69* runs with Tilak Varma as India chased down 181 runs in second T20I.
In response, India was reduced to 70/5 in 11 overs before Tilak Varma’s 51*, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s 26*, and Naman Dhir’s 31 shepherded the chase and won the game by 4 wickets in the last over.
Nitish and Tilak, dubbed as the ‘Hyderabadi boys,’ added an unbroken 69 runs off just 30 balls, India's highest seventh-wicket partnership in men's T20Is, as the visitors chased down 181 with a ball to spare and took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
During the press conference in which Nitish Kumar Reddy was fielding questions from the press, Reddy was talking about something, and during his statement, instead of saying situations, the Hyderabadi all-rounder loudly said ‘different situationships’ and immediately realized his gaffe as he smiled and looked towards the media manager.
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When asked about his brisk knock during a tense chase, Nitish discussed how he sought to put the pressure back on the New Zealand bowlers.
"The moment I walked in. The moment when I got the four. We were just talking, 'Tilak, we have to believe that we are going to get one strong, good over,' and that is what the T20 game is all about. One good over and the pressure is back on the bowling side.
We managed to take twos off even the good balls. And off the bad balls, we managed to hit for boundaries. I think that's where the game really changed for us," Reddy said as per ANI.
Following India's victory, Nitish was asked whether he was prepared to keep contributing as an all-rounder and possibly team up with India's all-rounder and seam bowler, Hardik Pandya, in South Africa next year.
"When you are made to bowl in defensive situations, it helps. It is all about experience right now (ahead of the World Cup). It is all about getting more and more experience before the right time comes," he added.
Nitish also gave credit to India head coach Gautam Gambhir for not placing any unnecessary expectations on the players and allowing their natural game to flourish.
"Gautam sir keeps telling us, whatever situation we are in, we have to keep believing. He did not put any other extra pressure that we have to go in and straightaway go bang bang. We are experienced players, and we played to ourselves, and the results came,” Reddy said.
India leads the five-game T20I series 2-0, and the third match will be played in Wellington on October 27.