India survived a strong fightback from New Zealand to claim a four wicket win in the opening T20 international in Christchurch on Thursday.
The visitors chased down a target of 226 with two balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the five match series. It was India’s highest successful run chase in T20 internationals.
New Zealand posted 225 for four after being asked to bat first. Glenn Phillips led the scoring with an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes.
Finn Allen gave the hosts a quick start with 45 off 24 balls. New Zealand reached 65 for one in the powerplay before Phillips took control of the innings. Bevon Jacobs also contributed 31 runs.
India struggled with the ball as all five bowlers conceded at least 10 runs per over.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned to T20 international cricket after four years but had a difficult outing. He conceded 49 runs without taking a wicket.
India made a flying start to their chase through Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. The pair added 93 runs for the opening wicket.
Samson struck 67 off just 33 balls, including eight fours and four sixes. India raced to 94 for one in the first six overs.
However, New Zealand fought back with three quick wickets to put the visitors under pressure.
Shreyas Iyer then steadied the innings with 42 off 28 balls. Naman Dhir took charge in the closing overs and remained unbeaten on 42 to guide India home in 19.4 overs.
India captain Iyer praised the openers for giving the team a strong start. He also praised Dhir for staying calm under pressure.
“When they click, they set up the game for us and the rest of us try to steady the ship and finish,” Iyer said.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner admitted that his team struggled to control India’s scoring in the powerplay.
“They put us under pressure. Another big powerplay from them. We were not at our best,” Santner said.
He felt New Zealand did well to recover in the middle overs but could not finish the job.
The second T20 international will take place in Christchurch on Saturday.
