India carried their rich run-scoring form from the West Indies series into New Zealand, as Sanju Samson’s 33-ball 67 and Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 42 off just 15 balls powered them to a record chase of 226, their highest-ever in T20Is, and a four-wicket victory over New Zealand before a sell-out crowd at Hagley Oval on Thursday.
Earlier, on a fresh pitch, Glenn Phillips smashed an unbeaten 40-ball 82 to lift New Zealand to an imposing 225/4. However, Samson and Dhir produced outstanding performances, while dew aided India’s pursuit, as the visitors completed the chase with two balls to spare in a run-fest that yielded 455 runs before a packed crowd.
India celebrated their record-breaking chase, while New Zealand rued their inability to deliver tight overs and maintain consistent fielding despite a few bright moments. Wayward bowling in the powerplay and 17 extras allowed India to seize control and keep the hosts on the back foot. The teams will meet again at the same venue on Saturday for the second match of the series.
India began their chase with Matt Henry beating Samson on the first ball, but Abhishek Sharma launched the final delivery of the over for six, recording his seventh first-ball six in T20Is — the most by any batter in the format. Samson struck consecutive fours off Adam Milne before Lockie Ferguson’s erratic opening over, which featured several wides, yielded 22 runs.
Milne struggled even more in his next over, as Abhishek struck two edged fours and two sixes to collect 26 runs. Samson then launched Henry over mid-on for six, giving India their 350th T20I maximum of the year — the most by any team in a calendar year. India continued to find boundaries, and Samson reached his fifty off just 23 balls with a six and a four off Michael Bracewell. Bracewell dismissed Abhishek (29 off 12 balls) in the same over, forcing him to slice the ball to short third man, as India finished the powerplay at 94/1.
Mitchell Santner shifted the momentum in the ninth over when he bowled Samson with an under-edge. The wicketkeeper’s superb knock featured eight fours and four sixes. Tilak Varma, whom India promoted to number three, struggled to score and managed just six runs off 11 balls before Bracewell caught him in the deep. Santner then dismissed Ishan Kishan for one, leaving India at 122/4.
Axar Patel ended a 22-ball boundary drought by finding the gap between deep mid-wicket and deep square leg against Santner. He and captain Shreyas Iyer then plundered 20 runs off Henry’s third over. Ferguson dismissed Axar for 24 off 14 balls when a fielder caught him at short mid-wicket, but Finn Allen dropped Iyer in the same over.
With India needing 48 runs off 24 balls, Santner returned after a nasty fall but conceded 19 runs as Dhir struck a six and a four. Ferguson then dropped Dhir at short third man, and the batter punished the mistake by hitting two more fours off Smith. Milne dismissed Iyer for 42 off 28 balls at the start of the 19th over, with Santner completing the catch, but Dhir kept India’s hopes alive.
India needed eight runs off the final over. New Zealand also faced a slow-over-rate penalty, which helped India’s cause. Dhir drove a full toss from Henry through the boundary for four before sealing the victory with a top-edged six over the wicketkeeper, sending the Indian dressing room into celebration.
Earlier, Finn Allen scored 45, while Daryl Mitchell and Bevon Jacobs contributed useful cameos of 28 and 31, respectively. Phillips stood out for the Black Caps, smashing boundaries across Hagley Oval with remarkable timing and placement. His intelligent running between the wickets further strengthened New Zealand’s innings.
New Zealand scored 65 runs in the powerplay, added 93 in the middle overs and smashed another 67 in the final five overs. Every Indian bowler conceded at least 10 runs per over.
Axar Patel proved the most expensive, conceding 51 runs for one wicket, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/49), Arshdeep Singh (1/45), Mayank Yadav (1/40) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (0/40) also struggled to contain the batters.
India’s fielders compounded the problem with a dropped catch and several fumbles in the deep.
After India elected to bowl, returning pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung the ball early and beat Tim Seifert with his first delivery in a tidy opening over.
However, the New Zealand openers soon attacked. Bhuvneshwar overstepped in the third over, allowing Seifert to exploit the free hit before launching a six onto the roof. New Zealand collected 17 runs from the over.
Arshdeep, playing his 100th T20I, also struggled to contain the batters. Allen smashed three consecutive fours, and Seifert added another as New Zealand scored 17 more runs. Mayank struck in his first over when Seifert edged a delivery behind to Samson after scoring 24 off 17 balls. Allen and Mitchell then attacked Axar, hitting two sixes in the final over of the powerplay, with Mitchell lofting one over long-on.
Axar eventually dismissed Allen, who mistimed a lofted shot to long-off and departed for 45 off 24 balls. Mitchell received a reprieve when Abhishek dropped him at long-on off Mayank with the batter on 16. Mitchell capitalised on the mistake with consecutive boundaries before Arshdeep dismissed him for 28, ending his 42-run partnership with Phillips after a fielder caught him at short third man.
Jacobs announced his arrival with a six off his first delivery, while Phillips struck three fours off Axar in the 14th over. One of those boundaries followed a misfield by substitute fielder Prince Yadav.
The 16th over brought more drama when a delivery struck Bhuvneshwar on the wrist and Jacobs hit a free hit straight to a fielder, losing his wicket even though the delivery did not count.
Phillips then raced to his 13th T20I half-century with a six off Mayank during an 18-run over. Arshdeep, however, ran out Jacobs for 31 off 16 balls, a knock that included three sixes, after kicking the ball onto the stumps.
Michael Bracewell survived an lbw decision after a successful review as New Zealand crossed the 200-run mark in the 19th over. India’s slow-over-rate penalty forced them to bring an extra fielder inside the 30-yard circle for the final over.
Phillips signed off with a switch-hit four off Bhuvneshwar, helping New Zealand post a total that would have challenged most teams but ultimately fell short against an Indian side determined to make history.
Brief Scores:
New Zealand 225/4 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 82 not out, Finn Allen 45; Mayank Yadav 1-40, Arshdeep Singh 1-45)
India 230/6 in 19.4 overs (Sanju Samson 67, Naman Dhir 42 not out; Michael Bracewell 2-37, Mitchell Santner 2-39)