Team India vice-captain Tilak Varma claimed that the visitors are aiming for a 5-0 whitewash in the T20I series against New Zealand ahead of 4th match in Auckland on Friday.
Published: October 29, 2026, 1:09 PM IST
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Team India vice-captain Tilak Varma at training session at Eden Park in Auckland on Thursday(Source: X)
India vs New Zealand 2026 4th T20: Team India T20I vice-captain Tilak Varma holds an unique record with the national sideIndians have won all 12 T20I games when Tilak Varma has remained unbeaten in the game and all 26 of his ‘not-out’ T20 knocks have resulted in wins for his sidesThe Mumbai Indians batter has piled up 1282 runs in T20I cricket since 2025 at an average of 41.4 with a strike-rate of 141.7 in 52 games.
Shreyas Iyer’s deputy had come up with another match-winning fifty in the second T20I match against New Zealand in Christchurch last week, putting on 69 runs with Nitish Kumar Reddy to set up India’s six-wicket win.
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India have now already clinched the five-match T20I series 3-0 with the fourth match set to take place at Eden Park in Auckland on FridayAhead of the fourth T20I match, Tilak Varma opened up on challenges of moving from No3 to 5 in the batting order and fulfilling the role of a finisher.
“I already had the power game; I have scored runs at number three as wellNow, batting at number five or six, I think about going for a boundary off the very first ball only if it’s there to be hit,” Tilak Varma said in the pre-match press conference in Auckland on Thursday.
“Otherwise, I focus on taking the game deepI take a bit more timeInitially, I focus on singles and doubles, finding gaps for fours or two runs,” Tilak Varma added.
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Tilak Varma and NKR turn the game on its head, pulling off a stunning win when it seemed all but lost!
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Tilak, who was retained for Rs 8 crore by Nita Ambani’s Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2026, revealed that bowlers are under far more ‘pressure’ as compared to the batters in the death overs.
“In the end overs, as a batsman, the bowler is under far more pressure than I amThat positive thought is constantly running in my head, that the bowler is under more pressure, so they are bound to leak runs,” he said.
Tilak Varma helped Team India chase down 181-run target in the second T20I match even after getting reduced to 70 for 5 at one stageOn his match-winning stand with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy at the Hagley Oval, he said: “I just told Nitish, ‘if we pull the match off from here, it’s going to be immense funLet’s just stay out there, take the game deep, and see what happens’.”
Team India are eyeing 5-0 whitewash: Tilak Varma
Indian vice-captain revealed that the visitors are not prepared to take the foot off the peddle and are aiming to complete a 5-0 whitewash in the T20I seriesIt is just third series out of six won by Team India since clinching the T20 World Cup 2026 title earlier this year.
“We are thinking this is a great opportunity to achieve a clean sweepThe next goal is to win the upcoming match and give the Indian crowd a great chance to witness a 5–0 series win,” Tilak said.
“At this level, we cannot make excusesWe are at the highest level, and we need to set standards for the youngsters who look up to usGautam sir (head coach Gautam Gambhir) made it clear in team meetings that this is a long tour and the standard we set as a T20 side will provide momentum for the ODI and Test squads,” Tilak added about adjusting to the time difference and jet lag.
