Christchurch: Sanju Samson hammered a 33-ball 67 before Naman Dhir finished the job with an unbeaten 42 off just 15 balls India pulled off their highest successful run chase in T20Is by hunting down 226 and beat New Zealand by four wickets in front of a sell-out crowd at the Hagley Oval on Thursday.
Earlier, Glenn Phillips’ 40-ball 82 not out lifted New Zealand to 225/4. But the superlative efforts of Samson and Dhir, along with dew coming into the picture, ensured India completed the chase in 19.4 overs to go 1-0 up in the five-match series. The second game of the series will be played in Christchurch on Saturday.
Matt Henry beat Samson first ball, but Abhishek Sharma launched the last delivery of the over for six, his record seventh first-ball six in the format. Samson struck back-to-back fours off Adam Milne before Lockie Ferguson’s erratic first over, littered with wides, fetched India 22 runs.
Milne fared worse next, as Abhishek collected two edged fours and two sixes in a 26-run over. Samson’s six off Henry – sailing over mid-on - was India’s 350th maximum in T20Is this year, the most by any team in a calendar year. More boundaries came for India and Samson reached his fifty off 23 balls with a six and a four off Michael Bracewell, who removed Abhishek (29 off 12 balls) by getting him to slice to short third man in the same over as India ended the powerplay on 94/1.
Santner then turned the game by castling Samson off an under-edge in the ninth over, as the wicketkeeper hit eight fours and four sixes in his top-class knock. Tilak Varma, promoted to number three, laboured to 6 off 11 balls before holing out off Bracewell, and Ishan Kishan (1) fell to Santner as India slipped to 122/4.
Axar Patel ended a 22-ball boundary drought by hitting Santner in the gap between deep mid-wicket and deep square leg. Along with captain Iyer, Axar took 20 runs off Henry’s third over. But Ferguson had Axar (24 off 14 balls) caught at short mid-wicket, while Finn Allen dropped Iyer in the same over.
With 48 needed off 24 balls, Santner returned after a nasty fall and was taken for 19 runs, as Dhir hit a six and four. Ferguson then put down Dhir at short third man as the batter looted two more fours off Smith. Milne had Iyer caught by Santner for a 28-ball 42 at the start of the 19th over, but Dhir kept India on course.
Needing eight from the last over, with New Zealand also penalised for a slow over-rate, Dhir drove a full toss from Henry for four and sealed the win by top-edging a short ball over the keeper for six.
While India rejoiced over acing a record chase, New Zealand, despite their moments in the field, will rue their inability to stitch tight overs. Being wayward in the powerplay and conceding lots of extras early on left them playing catch-up for the rest of the innings.
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) lost to India 230/6 in 19.4 overs (Sanju Samson 67, Naman Dhir 42 not out; Michael Bracewell 2-37, Mitchell Santner 2-39) by four wickets. IANS
Also Read: Suvarna Raj Clinches Gold in Women’s F54 Discus Throw at Asian Para Games