T20I series: Tilak the troubleshooter at work as India take 2-0 lead

Tilak Varma, the new India T20I vice-captain to Shreyas Iyer, proved again he has all the credentials to be their troubleshooter in this format in future. When the Men in Blue had stumbled to 70 for five at the halfway mark during a tricky chase of a 181-run target against the Kiwis, Tilak proved to be the matchwinner with a blazing 51 off just 26 balls to turn the match on its head in the second match at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.

A 2-0 cushion in the five-match series will certainly give the back-to-back T20 World Cup champions a spring in their step, though both the contests could have gone either way till the final over of the match. If the first one had Sanju Samson setting the tone for a record chase with an early onslaught, Tilak displayed a leadership quality at No.6 – albeit with an ally in Nitish Kumar Reddy as their 69-run stand for seventh wicket off 30 balls snatched the match from New Zealand bowlers’ hands.

Speaking to the broadcasters, the man of the moment said he was looking to take the match deep and his conversation with the coaching staff prior to the game helped him keep his calm and stay confident about his abilities. ‘’Just before today’s game, I was talking with coach Gautam sir and Sitangshu Kotak sir, and they said one thing that we all believe and the whole India believes in you. If you stay till the end, then you will win the game for us. That was in my mind, and I wanted to take the game as deep as possible. At the end of the day, I have done what everyone believed. So I am really proud of myself,’’ said Tilak.

This is not the first time though that Tilak has pulled India out of jail. A young veteran at 25 years, the Mumbai Indians batter had shown great adaptability and game sense in drawing India out of trouble with a 55-ball 72 against England in the second T20I in Chennai early last year as India went on to win the thriller by two wickets. Cut to the 2025 T20 Asia Cup final in Dubai where chasing a modest 147-run target, India had slipped to 20 for three with Abhishek Sharma, the then skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill back to the pavilion but Tilak anchored the chase in a high-pressure game with an unbeaten 69.

These were efforts which showed the rangy youngster was not a one-dimensional T20 batter. Coming at often number five or six these days, Tilak has had to execute the team’s plans in the company of a Naman Dhir, Reddy, Washington Sundar or Ravi Bishnoi – though his matchwinning effort on Saturday strengthens a case for promotion up the order.

There was also little logic in throwing in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in an unaccustomed No.3 position where he fell cheaply – heaping more pressure on the batters who followed.

Earlier, India produced a much better bowling display before New Zealand rode on half-centuries from Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs to post a competitive, albeit little below par, 180 for five. Phillips smashed a 43-ball 70 while Jacobs contributed 58 off 46 deliveries as the duo rescued New Zealand from a shaky start with a 116-run partnership for the fourth wicket.