New Zealand was well-placed on 225 for 4. This was the case in the first T20I between the five-game series, as this was the total they were looking at to win.
India beat them easily with four wickets in hand, posting their highest successful run-chase in this venue. Their final score was 230 for 6 in 19.4 overs.
This match took place on Thursday in the first game of India's tour to New Zealand. The final six was hit by a player who debuted for India just two weeks ago.
It was Sanju Samson who inflicted some early damage. He made his fifty off 23 deliveries and was dismissed for 67 from 33 balls, including four sixes and eight fours.
This innings meant more than just the runs. Samson has been a part-and-parcel in the Indian T20I side. He managed just 11 runs in India's opener in the series against West Indies on October 6 in the series which has once again reignited the debate regarding whether he or Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should open the innings.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar gave his take on that debate and said that they needed consistency in their decisions. “You cannot keep chopping and changing after every game,” said Gavaskar, according to a report in his comments on JioStar.
The tough times extend a little further into the past. In the January series against New Zealand in Raipur, he got out for six runs in the very first over. In that context, a fifty off 23 balls spoke volumes.
The glue in the middle order came from Captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored 42 off 28 balls.
Shreyas Iyer became the captain of India for the T20I matches from June 6. In his first T20I century, he scored an unbeaten 102 runs against the West Indies at Lucknow on October 6. This Christchurch match had smaller numbers but still suited the chase.
Abhishek Sharma contributed 29 off 12 balls, while Axar Patel contributed 24 off 14.
India could not get away with it. New Zealand’s spinners, Michael Bracewell and captain Mitchell Santner, accounted for two wickets each.
Tilak Varma contributed six runs in 11 deliveries, while Ishan Kishan contributed one run in three deliveries. It was precisely at the moment when batting against 226 became hard work.
Towards the end of the match, India required a match-winner.
That was done by Naman Dhir. The youngster scored an unbeaten 42 from just 15 deliveries and was adjudged the player of the match because of his performance. He also played two sixes and four boundaries during his innings.
The rise of Dhir so far has been rapid. He made his T20I debut for India on October 6 in Lucknow and picked three wickets for 31 runs using his off spin. He had said that he was waiting for an opportunity with the bat.
That came through in Christchurch, and the 26-year-old man grabbed it. Dhir is originally from the city of Ambala and had talked about how it was special to represent India while coming from a small town.
Earlier, the highest successful run chase for India in T20Is was 209 in their match against Australia in Visakhapatnam in 2023. This is also the second-highest successful run chase against New Zealand in T20Is after Australia's 244 against them in Auckland in 2018.
The enormity of the New Zealand score can be judged from the fact that Glenn Phillips scored an unbeaten 82 in 40 balls while Finn Allen chipped in with 45 runs off 24 balls.
There was not much to cheer for the Indian bowlers, who managed to dismiss just one batsman each in Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav, and Axar Patel.
