India vs New Zealand: 29 Off 12. Tilak Varma Had Other Plans

Tilak Varma had reached fifty. There was some running left to do.

He had swatted Jacob Duffy towards long-on, called for two and sprawled to complete the second. India needed four off three balls. His half-century received barely an acknowledgement.

The scoreboard could keep the milestone. Tilak had a match to finish.

A single followed. Then a wide. Then Nitish Kumar Reddy clipped Duffy into the space between deep midwicket and deep backward square leg. The ball stayed within the boundary. The batters ran two.

India had won by four wickets with one delivery remaining. New Zealand, who had reduced them to 112/6 in pursuit of 181, were left examining another chase that had slipped through their fingers.

Tilak finished unbeaten on 51 off 26 balls. Nitish made 26 off 13. Their unbroken seventh-wicket partnership delivered 69 runs and a victory that had required considerably more composure than the final margin suggested.

For Tilak, the situation came with a certain familiarity. England had seen an earlier version in Chennai. Pakistan had experienced it in an Asia Cup final in Dubai.

Christchurch joined the list.

SIX DOWN. NOW WHAT?

When Naman Dhir fell for 31 off 17 balls, India needed 69 from 31 deliveries.

That is an awkward moment to discover that your batting order has become rather short.

New Zealand had earned their advantage. Mitchell Santner’s changes of pace and length had made acceleration difficult. India’s chase had reached the stage where every quiet delivery made the next attacking shot more urgent.

Nitish helped supply the early impetus in the rescue. His unbeaten 26 came at a strike rate of 200, a contribution that deserves to remain firmly in the frame alongside Tilak’s fifty. India needed scoring from both ends; Nitish provided it.

Even so, with two overs remaining, the equation was still 29 off 12. Tilak was on 26 from 17 balls. Nathan Smith had the ball. Six deliveries later, the match had changed.

THE OVER THAT BROKE IT OPEN

The first boundary came with a little assistance from fortune.

Smith went very full. Tilak attempted a scoop, and a thick leading edge carried the ball over short third.

Four.

The next delivery was short. Tilak pulled towards deep midwicket, where Glenn Phillips moved across but failed to gather the ball before it reached the boundary.

Four more.

A dot followed. Smith had bought himself a little breathing room.

Tilak promptly took it away, moving inside the line of a short ball on leg stump and hooking another boundary. Smith responded with a yorker outside off that Tilak could not connect with.

Twenty-nine off 12 had become 17 off seven. The final delivery of the over still mattered enormously.

Smith offered width from a back-of-a-length delivery. Tilak carved it over wide long-off for six.

The over read: four, four, dot, four, dot, six.

Eighteen runs. Eleven required from the last six balls.

Two deliveries had produced nothing. Tilak had still found enough scoring opportunities to turn the chase. Under that pressure, a dot ball had remained a dot ball; it had not become an invitation to lose his shape on the next delivery.

HE HAS BEEN HERE BEFORE

On January 25, 2025, India’s pursuit of 166 against England in Chennai had also threatened to unravel. They slipped to 78/5, and eventually lost eight wickets. Tilak stayed, making an unbeaten 72 off 55 balls as India won with four deliveries remaining, according to Reuters’ match report. Reuters

That innings required a longer repair job. Partners departed, the chase kept changing, and Tilak had to preserve India’s chances while continuing to score.

In Christchurch, the acceleration came in a concentrated burst. His final nine deliveries produced 25 runs.

The circumstances differed, but the responsibility was familiar: stay available long enough to settle the chase.

Then there was Dubai.

In the Asia Cup final against Pakistan on September 28, 2025, India fell to 20/3 chasing 147. Tilak made an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls. As The Times of India’s account detailed, he rebuilt through a 57-run partnership with Sanju Samson and added another 60 with Shivam Dube. India won with two balls remaining. The Times of India

Those partnerships matter to understanding his value. Tilak can give an innings continuity while allowing the contribution around him to change: Samson and Dube in Dubai, Nitish in Christchurch.

Three successful rescues cannot guarantee the next one. They do, however, give substance to a growing reputation. Tilak has repeatedly remained at the crease when a chase became uncomfortable, then found the scoring gear required to complete it.

NEW ZEALAND’S SHRINKING MARGIN

India still had to negotiate the final over.

Nitish took a single from the first delivery. Tilak drove the second through wide long-off for four.

Six needed off four.

Then came the sprawling second run, the scarcely acknowledged fifty and the single that returned Nitish to strike.

New Zealand’s execution was fraying. Their slow over-rate had already forced an additional fielder inside the ring for the final over. Duffy’s high bouncer was called wide, reducing the requirement to two from two.

Nitish found the leg-side gap. India found their finish.

New Zealand will remember Phillips’ missed boundary stop and the deliveries that offered Tilak room to attack. Santner’s earlier control had created a winning opportunity; the closing overs surrendered it.

Tilak and Nitish still had to exploit every opening.

By the end, Tilak’s fifty had become a footnote to the evening’s more pressing business. He had reached it on the ground, stretching for his crease, with the chase still alive.

There would be time to raise the bat once the running was done.