How Gautam Gambhir’s inspirational message boosted Tilak Varma’s heroics in Christchurch

India vice-captain Tilak Varma said he was proud of himself after his unbeaten 51 off 26 balls led India to a thrilling four-wicket win over New Zealand in the second T20I on Saturday. Tilak revealed that head coach Gautam Gambhir and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak backed him before the match, telling him that the country had faith in him and that he could take India home if he batted till the end.

IND vs NZ 2nd T20I: MAIN | SCORECARD

Tilak’s knock helped India chase down a target of 181 with one ball to spare as the visitors slumped to 70 for five. He found an able ally in Nitish Kumar Reddy, whose unbeaten 26 off 13 balls helped turn the match around with a lightning counter-attack. After being named the man of the match, Tilak recalled the message from the Indian coaching staff and said their faith in him remained at the forefront of his mind during the chase.

“I was just thinking about batting till the end. I spoke to Mr. Gautam and Mr. Sitanshu Kotak before today’s match. They told me that the whole of India has faith in me and if I bat till the end, I could win the match for the team.” That’s what I meant. I wanted to take the game as deep as possible and finish it. I am really proud of myself for doing what they believed I could do,” Tilak told Sony Sports.

TILAK, REDDY SCRIPT HEROIC COMEBACK

India’s chase was in trouble after New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner tore through the middle order and claimed four wickets for 21 runs. However, Tilak kept his cool and found an able partner in Nitish Kumar Reddy, who chipped in with an unbeaten 26 off 13 balls.

The two added an unbroken 69 off just 30 balls to deliver India back into the contest and seal a memorable win. Tilak hit six fours and a six on his way to a 25-ball half-century while Reddy’s attacking batting kept the pressure on New Zealand in the closing overs. Tilak said he urged Naman Dhir to stick with him at the crease and stressed the importance of running hard against the New Zealand spinners on a slow surface.

“I told Naman we can stay till the end. The wicket was slower compared to the last game, so I told him we will have to push hard with our running between the wickets, especially when they bowled. That was our plan and we did it well,” he said.

Dhir made 31 off 17 balls before falling to Santner in the 15th over. Tilak believed that India could have completed the chase sooner had the partnership continued.

“Unfortunately, Naman got out in Mitchell Santner’s last over. Otherwise I think we could have finished the match in the 18th over. Credit to Naman also for the way he batted. After that, the Hyderabadi boys, Nitish Reddy and I were at the crease and I’m really glad we could have finished the game,” he added.

INDIA’S PLAN AGAINST SPINNERS

The New Zealand spinners made life difficult for the Indian batsmen and Santner’s decisive spell left the visitors in need of a late surge. Tilak said the plan was to avoid taking unnecessary risks against the slower bowlers, rotate the strike and wait for opportunities to attack the pacers.

“There was a plan. We wanted to show intent when the fast bowlers came on, but against the spinners we focused on finding the gaps and ran hard. We got four or five sets of two runs against the spinners and those were really key. We played smart at that stage,” he said.

“Later we knew we could take on the fast bowlers. We needed that kind of pace on such a big ground, so we waited for the opportunity and finished the game in style.”

Earlier, Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs bailed out New Zealand after the Indian bowlers broke through early. Phillips hit 70 off 43 balls while Jacobs scored 58 off 46 as the pair added 116 runs for the fourth wicket to help the hosts score 180 for five.

Arshdeep Singh led India’s bowling effort with two wickets for 33 runs, while Prince Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck early to leave New Zealand at 41 for three.

A late strike from Tilak and Reddy saw India complete a remarkable comeback after being pushed to the brink to give the visitors a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.

– The end