India Chase 226 in Christchurch: Samson's 67 and Dhir's Late Hitting Win the Opener
Glenn Phillips made 82 not out in New Zealand's 225/4, but Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer and Naman Dhir took India home by four wickets with two balls left.
India beat New Zealand by four wickets with two balls to spare in the first T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on 22 October, chasing 226. They lead the five match series 1-0.
The scorecard in short
| | Score | |---|---| | New Zealand | 225/4 (20 overs) | | India | 230/6 (19.4 overs) |
New Zealand: Phillips carries the innings
India won the toss and chose to bowl. Finn Allen made 45 from 24 balls at the top, and Glenn Phillips batted through the back half for 82 not out from 40 balls. Bevon Jacobs added 31 from 16 before he was run out, and Daryl Mitchell made 28.
Arshdeep Singh, who took a blow to his bowling shoulder in Hyderabad eight days earlier, bowled his four overs and took the wicket of Mitchell. Mayank Yadav and Axar Patel took one each.
India: Samson sets it up, Dhir finishes it
Sanju Samson made 67 from 33 balls, his second fifty in three innings, and Abhishek Sharma hit 29 from 12 alongside him. Tilak Varma (6) and Ishan Kishan (1) fell cheaply, but captain Shreyas Iyer held the middle of the chase together with 42 from 28.
The finish belonged to Naman Dhir, who made 42 not out from 15 balls, with Axar Patel's 24 from 14 keeping the rate in reach. Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner took two wickets each for New Zealand.
Who sat out
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not in India's XI. New Zealand were without Rachin Ravindra (shoulder), Mark Chapman (hamstring) and Zak Foulkes (hip flexor); Josh Clarkson and Blair Tickner were called into the squad in their place.
What comes next
The 2nd T20I is at Hagley Oval again on Saturday 24 October, at 12:30pm IST. With this match now counted, our player predictions for the 2nd T20I are live.