Tilak Varma takes record 26 T20I catches in a year as India beat New Zealand in Christchurch

India vice-captain Tilak Varma set a world record in the second match of the five-match T20 series against New Zealand, played in Christchurch. He took two catches, a mark that will not be easily broken by any fielder in future.

Tilak is now the fielder with the most catches in a single year in T20 internationals. He took two catches in the first three overs of the New Zealand innings. He dismissed Tim Seifert in the second over and caught Daryl Mitchell in the third.

With these two catches, Tilak reached 26 catches as a fielder in 2026. He broke the record of Indonesia's Danilson Hao, who had 25 catches in 2025. Third on the list is Mohammad Waseem of the UAE, who took 24 catches in 2024. Next come Malaysia's Sharvin Muniandy with 21 catches in 2025 and Uganda's Brian Masaba with 20 in 2025.

India won the toss and chose to field. New Zealand made a poor start, losing three wickets for 41 runs. Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs then steadied the innings. Phillips scored 70 off 43 balls with four fours and four sixes, the top score of the innings. Jacobs made a fifty, 58 off 46 balls, with five fours and one six.

Chasing 181, India started slowly. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma tried to lift the run rate, but the batting faltered when Samson was dismissed in the fifth over. Vaibhav Suryavanshi and captain Shreyas Iyer also could not contribute much. India had lost five wickets for 70 runs.

In these difficult conditions, vice-captain Tilak Varma took responsibility. He scored an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls. Nitish also contributed 26 runs. Together they took India to victory. India made 181 for six in 19.5 overs to win the match.