India chased down 226 with two balls to spare to beat New Zealand by four wickets in the first T20I in Christchurch, their highest successful run chase in the format. Sanju Samson hit 67 off 33 balls and Naman Dhir finished unbeaten on 42 off 15.
Christchurch, New Zealand: Shreyas Iyer won the toss, chose to field and then watched Glenn Phillips drag the hosts to 225 for 4 at Hagley Oval. India answered with 230 for 6 in 19.4 overs in a rematch of the T20 World Cup final, a chase built on a blistering powerplay and finished with a six off the fourth ball of the last over.
Phillips powers New Zealand to 225
Phillips finished on 82 not out off 40 balls with eight fours and three sixes, his 13th T20I fifty. Finn Allen gave the innings its launch pad with 45 off 24 balls before Axar Patel removed him in the eighth over, and Bevon Jacobs added 31 off 16 with three sixes before a third-umpire call ran him out. Daryl Mitchell made 28 and fell to Arshdeep Singh.
Mayank Yadav took 1 for 40 in four overs and Axar one wicket, while Arshdeep claimed Mitchell and effected the run-out. New Zealand had reached 65 for 1 in the powerplay, and Phillips and Jacobs then lifted the scoring rate through the closing overs.
Abhishek and Samson blow the chase open
India needed a quick start and got one. Abhishek Sharma hit the first ball he faced for six, his seventh first-ball six in T20Is, a record in the format. He and Samson put on 93 inside the powerplay, and India were 94 for 1 after six overs. Abhishek made 29 off 12 balls before Michael Bracewell had him caught.
Samson kept going. He reached a fifty in 23 balls and finished with 67 off 33, hitting eight fours and four sixes, until Mitchell Santner bowled him in the ninth over.
Wickets fall, Iyer keeps India in it
New Zealand pulled the game back through Bracewell and Santner, who took two wickets each. Tilak Varma went for 6 and Ishan Kishan for 1, and Ferguson later removed Axar for 24 off 14 balls. Iyer, captaining the side, made 42 off 28 before Adam Milne had him caught by Santner at extra cover, but he had kept the chase within reach.
Dhir finishes it in the last over
India needed seven off the final over from Matt Henry. Dhir hit a four, took singles, then smashed the winning six with two balls left. He finished with 42 not out off 15 balls, with five fours and two sixes.
What it means for the series
India lead the five-match series 1-0, with the second T20I in Christchurch on Saturday. The series runs until 1 November and comes before the ODIs and Tests, for which the BCCI has named split-captaincy squads for the tour.
New Zealand: 225 for 4 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 82*, Finn Allen 45, Bevon Jacobs 31).
India: 230 for 6 in 19.4 overs (Sanju Samson 67, Shreyas Iyer 42, Naman Dhir 42*).
Result: India won by four wickets with two balls remaining and lead the series 1-0.
