After an easy win in Kolkata, India had to dig deep to secure victory in the second T20I against England in Chennai on Saturday. Tilak Varma's unbeaten 72 off 55 helped the hosts steal a last-over thriller by 2 wickets to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.

India chased a target of 166 but lost Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma early. Captain Suryakumar Yadav tried to forge a partnership with Tilak Varma but fell for 12 runs.

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India soon ran out of partners, while Varma held firm at one end. Brydon Carse, one of England's two changes from Kolkata, did the most damage to the Indian middle order as he removed Dhruv Jurel after clean-bowling the skipper.

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India's Axar Patel celebrates with Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson after taking the wicket of England's Liam Livingstone. Photo: Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Washington Sundar fought after Hardik Pandya (7) sliced one into Salt's hands. The 44-run stand Sundar held with Varma got the Indian chase back on track, but it was still far from safe. Jos Buttler brought Carse back into action, and he delivered with the prized wicket of Sundar as India once again fell into trouble.

While wickets kept tumbling, Varma held firm and after Ravi Bishnoi survived a leg before review, the set batter got the job done with four balls to spare.

Earlier, England skipper Buttler was their saving grace as he helped them post 165/9. Buttler made a 30-ball 45, and barring Brydon Carse's quick-fire 31, English batters continued their struggles from the opening game in Kolkata.

After India won the toss, Arshdeep Singh struck early to remove Phil Salt. Harry Brook looked in fine touch but failed to read the turn on Varun Chakravarthy and was bowled for 13. Debutant Jamie Smith made a good impression with a pair of sixes, but he too failed to convert a good start and fell for 22 while attacking part-timer Abhishek Sharma, India's batting hero from Kolkata.

Axar Patel chipped in with a pair of wickets before the English tail made a healthy contribution (Jofra Archer 12 not out and Adil Rashid 10) to get them past 150. India and England play the third T20I in Rajkot on January 28.

Brief scores: England 165/9 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 45, Brydon Carse 31, Jamie Smith 22, Axar Patel 2/32, Varun Chakravarthy 2/38) lost to India 166/8 in 19.2 overs (Tilak Varma 72 not out, Washington Sundar 26, Brydon Carse 3/29)

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