Christchurch: The New Zealand opening pair of Finn Allen and Tim Seifert continued their red-hot form during the first T20I against India, once again setting a platform for a massive score of 225/4 in 20 overs at Christchurch on Thursday.
Allen (45 in 24 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and Seifert (24 in 17 balls, with three fours and a six) put on a 49-run stand in the first five overs, paving the way for the Kiwis to finish with 65 runs at the end of six overs.
In 20 innings as an opening pair, Seifert and Allen have made 890 runs at an average of 46.84 and a run rate of 11.28, with five fifty-plus stands and two century stands.
Of the 100 pairs to have opened at least 15 times together in Men’s T20Is, these two have the best partnership run rate (11.28), followed by Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson (1033 runs at 11.16).
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, against India in the first T20I of the five-match series at Christchurch on Thursday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's return after four years was an underwhelming one, as he was carted for 49 in four overs. Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Axar Patel got a wicket each, but each leaked runs in excess of 10 per over, with Glenn (82* in 40 balls, with eight fours and three sixes), Finn Allen (45 in 24 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and Bevon Jacobs (31 in 16 balls, with three sixes) firing all cylinders.
Bhuvneshwar 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 Bhuvneshwar 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.
Express pacer Mayank Yadav put a half on 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 Axar 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. Axar's over leaked 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 Axar 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 the 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 in 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* in 40 balls, with eight fours and three sixes) and Michael Bracewell (7*) unbeaten.