Christchurch

Indiacarried their rich run-scoring vein from the West Indies series into New Zealand, as Sanju Samson’s 33-ball 67 and Naman Dhir’s late assault of an unbeaten 42 off just 15 balls powered them to hunt down 226, their highest-ever chase in T20Is, and beat New Zealand by four wickets in front of a sell-out crowd at the Hagley Oval on Thursday.

Earlier, on a fresh pitch, Glenn Phillips smashed a 40-ball 82 not out and lifted New Zealand to an imposing 225/4. But the superlative efforts of Samson and Dhir, along with dew coming into the picture, ensured India completed the chase with two balls to spare in a run-fest that produced 455 runs in front of a sell-out crowd.

While India rejoiced over acing a record chase, New Zealand, despite their moments in the field, will rue their inability to stitch tight overs and being erratic in fielding. Being wayward in the powerplay, and conceding 17 extras left them playing catch-up for the rest of the innings. The second game of the series will be played at the same venue on Saturday.

India’s chase began explosively, with Abhishek Sharma smashing a six off the final ball of the first over. Ferguson conceded 22 runs in his opening over, while Milne leaked 26 as India raced to 94/1 in the powerplay. Abhishek struck 29 off 12 balls before falling to Michael Bracewell. Samson reached his fifty in 23 balls, hitting eight fours and four sixes, before Mitchell Santner dismissed him for 67.

India then slipped to 122/4 as Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan departed cheaply. Axar Patel scored 24 off 14 balls, while captain Shreyas Iyer contributed 42 off 28. With 48 needed from 24 balls, Dhir turned the contest around, attacking Santner and Ferguson. Needing eight in the final over, India sealed victory through Dhir’s four and six off Matt Henry.

Earlier, Finn Allen smashed 45 off 24 balls, while Daryl Mitchell made 28 and Bevon Jacobs scored 31. Phillips dominated with an unbeaten 82, reaching his 13th T20I fifty. India’s bowlers struggled, with Axar conceding 51 runs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 49 and Arshdeep Singh 45. Arshdeep, playing his 100th T20I, also ran out Jacobs. India’s sloppy fielding and dropped catches compounded their problems, while New Zealand’s 17 extras proved costly.

The teams meet again at Hagley Oval on Saturday, with India carrying momentum after a record-breaking triumph.

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.