India secured a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second T20I in Christchurch, recovering from a massive collapse to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Chasing 181, the visitors found themselves tottering at 70/5 in 10.5 overs. The recovery unfolded in two distinct phases. Naman Dhir triggered the turnaround with a lightning-fast 31 off 17 balls, hammering three crucial sixes to shift the momentum back toward India.
Following Dhir's departure at 112/6, Tilak Varma (51* off 26 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (26* off 13 balls) put on an unbeaten 69-run stand off just 30 deliveries to take India over the line with one delivery to spare.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, India skipper Shreyas Iyer hailed the "immense character" shown by Tilak and Nitish, while also lauding the impactful cameo by Naman.
“I feel that every individual in our team is a match winner, and today we saw the example of that. Like, honestly speaking, when we lost wickets, consecutive wickets especially, we thought that the game was going away from us. But Tilak and Reddy, they showed immense character, and also a great cameo by Naman Dhir,” Shreyas said.
He was effusive in praise of Naman, calling him a "comprehensive player" for his all-round skills. The Punjab lad also contributed to India’s win in the series opener at Hagley Oval.
“We saw him in a couple of games back home against West Indies. He’s a phenomenal bowler as well, and once you get both the parts covered in terms of batting and bowling, I think he brings in a lot of character, and also when you see him move around in the field, he basically, he’s a comprehensive player,” Shreyas added.
He commended Kiwi spinners Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell for their exceptional control during the middle overs. Iyer noted that a high number of dot balls early in the innings put severe pressure on the required run rate, crediting the spin duo for making it difficult to strike the ball cleanly.
“I think we played a lot of dot balls initially, and that basically piled up the run rate as well, and also when we went in, we wanted to actually cruise, but they bowled amazing, especially Bracewell and Santner, the way they controlled the game in the middle. It wasn’t easy to strike the ball, but I think if we would have picked up the gaps and tried to find boundaries, we could have easily cruised. But unfortunate. You know, it happens. Just another day, and I’m sure that we’ll bounce back pretty strong,” he remarked.
The Indian captain also highlighted a specific fielding strategy implemented by the team management under coach Gautam Gambhir.
“I think that was the message passed on to each and every player in the team, that you got to anticipate every ball that is coming to you, and just believe that you’re going to give singles, and just see to it that you’re running into the ball so that, you know, the opponents, they think twice about running twos,” Iyer stated.
Despite successfully pulling off tight chases to win the first two T20Is, Shreyas Iyer advised his team to stay grounded, emphasizing that the ultimate goal is to seal the series.
“[On India's next destination and the team's progress in the series] Thank you so much. Job is still half done,” he concluded.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
