Christchurch: A fluent fifty from Sanju Samson and a majestic finishing touch from Naman Dhir powered India to a 4-wicket victory over New Zealand in the 1st T20I in Christchurch on Thursday.
Samson laid the foundation for India's chase with a brilliant 67-run knock. However, his dismissal triggered a mini-collapse, putting the visitors under pressure.
Dhir and skipper Shreyas Iyer stepped up at a crucial time, steadying the innings and guiding India to a win.
Dhir remained unbeaten on 42 off just 15 deliveries, smashing five fours and two sixes to guide India to victory and hand the visitors a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Chasing a target of 226, India got off to a flying start with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opening the innings.
The duo took the attack to the New Zealand bowlers, smashing boundaries at regular intervals to put the visitors firmly in control of the chase.
Carrying his impressive form from the T20I series against the West Indies, Samson led the charge, ensuring India maintained the upper hand during the powerplay; he brought his half-century in just 23 balls.
While Sharma provided valuable support at the other end, he was removed by Michael Bracewell for 29 off 12 balls in the last over of the powerplay.
India ended the powerplay at 94/1, with Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma at the crease.
However, Mitchell Santner provided New Zealand with a crucial breakthrough in the ninth over, dismissing the in-form Samson for a fluent 67 off just 33 balls. His departure brought Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer to the crease.
New Zealand struck again in the following over as Michael Bracewell claimed his second wicket of the day, removing a struggling Tilak Varma for just six off 11 deliveries.
Varma had struggled to find his rhythm and failed to make an impact with the bat, leaving India with another setback in their chase.
Ishan Kishan also failed to make a mark, as he was removed by Santner for just 1, bringing Axar Patel to the crease.
From their perspective, Patel and Iyer carried India’s hope as the duo added 45 off 24 balls before Patel was removed by Lockie Ferguson for 24 and Naman Dhir joined Iyer in the middle.
Iyer and Dhir then counterattacked, taking the fight to the New Zealand bowlers and peppering the boundary with a flurry of powerful strokes.
However, Adam Milne in the 19th over got the better of Iyer for 42 off 28 balls, bringing Nitish Kumar Reddy to the crease.
Dhir continued his aggressive assault on the New Zealand bowlers, bringing India within touching distance of victory, with just eight runs needed off the final over.
India sealed the match with 2 balls left as Dhir finished the match with a mighty six.
Earlier in the match, A hard-hitting 82* by Glenn Phillips and powerplay pyrotechnics from Finn Allen and Tim Seifert helped New Zealand end at 225/4, their highest in home T20Is.
Kumar opened the bowling for India, bowling a tidy four-run over. In the next over, Finn Allen struck Arshdeep Singh for a boundary over mid-off, making it the first boundary of the match.
This opened the floodgates as Kumar was taken apart by Seifert in his second over, leaking two boundaries and a six. The explosive hitter asserted his dominance over Bhuvneshwar with a four and a six over long-on to make it 17 runs in the over.
In the next over, Arshdeep leaked four boundaries against the Kiwi pair, including a hat-trick of boundaries by Allen.
Pacer Mayank Yadav put a halt to the flow of runs, getting Seifert to nick one to Sanju Samson as he tried to go big. Mayank finished his over with a wicket of Seifert for 17-ball 24, with three fours and a six. NZ was 49/1 in five overs.
Allen dispatched Patel for a six over long-off, bringing NZ's 50-run mark in 5.2 overs before Daryl Mitchell followed it with another one soon after. Patel’s overleaked 16 runs, and the Kiwis ended the powerplay at 65/1, with Allen (33*) joined by Mitchell (7*) unbeaten.
Allen continued to look imposing against Indian bowlers, but Patel got him caught by Tilak Verma straight down at long-off for 24-ball 45, with five fours and two sixes. NZ was 80/2 in 7.4 overs.
Halfway through, NZ was 98/2 in 10 overs, with Glenn Phillips (12*) and Mitchell (15*) unbeaten.
Mitchell got in his groove with back-to-back fours against Mayank in the 11th over, with Phillips dispatching Nitish Kumar Reddy for a six over deep backward square leg.
The budding partnership was ended by Arshdeep, as he got Mitchell for a 19-ball 28 as he attempted to pull but was caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. NZ was 122/3 in 12.1 overs. On the next ball, Bevon Jacobs smoked Arshdeep for a towering six over the sightscreen.
Phillips looked in a fine flow, collecting a hat-trick of boundaries to end the spinner's spell at 1/51 in four overs.
At the end of 15 overs, NZ was 158/3, with Phillips (41*) and Jacobs (16*) unbeaten. In the next over bowled by Bhuvneshwar, he was taken apart for 14 runs, including two sixes by Bevon, as he also sustained a hit on his wrist.
Phillips reached his 13th T20I fifty in 27 balls, with three fours and three sixes.
The Kiwis continued to smash Indian bowlers, with Bevon and Phillips getting 18 runs off Mayank's final over, including two sixes and a four. Mayank ended his spell with 1/40, with the Kiwis marching towards the 200-run mark.
Some fine footwork from Arshdeep caused Bevon to get run out, ending the 73-run partnership between the duo. Bevon was back in the hut for 31 off 16 balls, including three maximums. NZ was 195/4 in 17.3 overs.
NZ reached the 200-run mark in 18.4 overs. Heading into the final over, NZ was 211/4, with Phillips (74*) joined by Michael Bracewell (3*).
In the final over, NZ took apart Bhuvneshwar once again, taking 14 more runs as they ended with 225/4, with Phillips (82* off 40 balls, with eight fours and three sixes) and Michael Bracewell (7*) unbeaten.