Tilak Varma expressed pride in his performance after guiding India to victory in their second T20I against New Zealand.

India won by four wickets in Christchurch thanks to Varma's unbeaten 51 off just 26 balls, with the tourists now 2-0 up in the five-match series.

New Zealand were sent out to bat and were able to set a total of 180-5 after Glenn Phillips (70) and Bevon Jacobs (58) put on a 116-run partnership, while Arshdeep Singh (2-33) was the pick of the bowlers.

India's chase was not going to plan after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (4), Shreyas Iyer (7) and Axar Patel (11) all fell in quick succession to leave them 70-5 after 10.5 overs.

However, Varma, with the help of Naman Dhir (31) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (26), smashed India across the line with one ball to spare.

He has now recorded the second-most unbeaten knocks in men's T20I chases without ever losing, fewer only than England's James Vince (31).

And the batter credited his coaches for filling him with confidence.

"At that stage, I was just thinking about playing till the end," he said, when asked about his gameplan when going out to bat.

You know it's clutch when @TilakV9 pulls out this celebration  #TeamIndia | #NZvIND https://t.co/WJTeZB1xzZ

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 24, 2026

"Just before today's game, I was talking with coach Gautam [Gambhir] and [batting coach] Sitanshu Kotak, and they said one thing; 'We all believe and the whole of India believes in you. If you stay till the end, then you will win, you'll 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'm really proud of myself."

New Zealand must now win all three remaining matches to win the series, with the third T20I taking place in Wellington on Tuesday.