70/5 And Down, Then Came Tilak Varma-Nitish Kumar Reddy: Shreyas Iyer Left In Awe Of India's New Heroes vs New Zealand

The Indian cricket team once again showed its depth in T20Is on Saturday. Chasing 181 in the second T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch, India were 70/5 in 10.5 overs. Naman Dhir (31) departed in the 15th over, with India at 112/6 at that point. Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy then dug deep to take India to victory with one ball to spare. Following India's thrilling win over New Zealand in the second T20I, Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer hailed Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy for showing "immense character", while also lauding Naman Dhir, who started the turnaround for Team India after a collapse during the middle overs.

The game seemed to be slipping away from India as they collapsed from 40/0 to 70/5 in 10.5 overs. However, it was Naman's crucial cameo of 31 off 17 balls, featuring a four and three sixes, that fuelled India's belief and gave momentum to Tilak (51 off 26 balls, with six fours and a six) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (26 off 13 balls, with a four and a six), helping India seal a four-wicket win with one ball to spare.

Speaking during the post-match presentation after India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, Iyer said, "I feel that every individual in our game is a match-winner, and today we saw an example of that. Honestly speaking, when we lost wickets, especially consecutive wickets, we thought that the game was going away from us. But Tilak and Reddy showed immense character, and Naman Dhir also played a great cameo."

Speaking about Naman, who has been lighting up Team India with crucial cameos and contributions with the ball, Shreyas called him a "phenomenal bowler" and someone who is a "comprehensive player".

"We saw him a couple of games back at home against the West Indies. He is a phenomenal bowler as well, and once you have both aspects covered in terms of batting and bowling, I think he brings a lot of character. Also, when you see him move around in the field, he is a comprehensive player," he said.

During the match, Naman also bowled an over, conceding just seven runs.

Iyer hailed Kiwi spinners Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell for posing a tough challenge, while acknowledging the issue of India playing too many dot balls at the start of the chase.

"I think we played a lot of dot balls initially, and that piled up the required run rate as well. When we went in, we wanted to cruise, but they bowled amazingly, especially Bracewell and Santner, the way they controlled the game in the middle," said the skipper.

"It was not easy to strike the ball, but I think if we had picked the gaps and tried to find boundaries, we could have cruised through. But unfortunately, it happens. It's just another day, and I am sure we will bounce back pretty strong."

Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to bowl first. They had New Zealand reeling at 41/3 inside the powerplay. Glenn Phillips (70 off 46 balls, with four fours and four sixes) and Bevon Jacobs (58 off 46 balls, with five fours and a six) led New Zealand's recovery after the early collapse, stitching together a 116-run partnership for the fourth wicket to guide the hosts to 180/5 in 20 overs.

Besides Arshdeep Singh's 2/33, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy picked up a wicket each.

In reply, India slumped from 40/0 to 112/6, with Santner's four-wicket haul causing havoc in the middle overs. Hope was revived by Naman's quickfire 31 off 17 balls, and Tilak (51 off 26 balls) and Nitish (26 off 13 balls) then combined to take India home with one ball remaining.

India now lead the five-match series 2-0.

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