Samson's 67 and Dhir's 42* Help India Chase 226 to Win First T20I in Christchurch
India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets in the first T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday, October 22. They chased down a target of 226 with two balls to spare, finishing on 230 for 6 in 19.4 overs. India lead the five-match series 1-0. Sanju Samson was named Player of the Match for his 67 off 33 balls.
India won the toss and chose to bowl. New Zealand made 225 for 4. Glenn Phillips was the star with an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls, which included 8 fours and 3 sixes. Finn Allen hit 45 off 24 balls, and Bevon Jacobs added 31 off 16. Phillips and Jacobs put on 73 runs for the fourth wicket in just 32 balls. Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Axar Patel took one wicket each. Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for 49 in his four overs, with two no-balls.
India's chase began at a furious pace. Samson and Abhishek Sharma added 93 for the first wicket in 35 balls. Abhishek hit 29 off 12 balls, with three sixes. India were 94 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. Samson hit 8 fours and 4 sixes before Mitchell Santner bowled him at 115 for 2. Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan then fell cheaply, and India were 122 for 4 in the 11th over.
Captain Shreyas Iyer steadied the chase with 42 off 28 balls. He added 45 runs in 24 balls with Axar Patel, who made 24 off 14. Iyer fell at 210 for 6 in the 19th over. Naman Dhir then finished the job. He hit an unbeaten 42 off 15 balls, with 5 fours and 2 sixes, at a strike rate of 280. He added 43 with Iyer in 22 balls. He then hit a six off Matt Henry to end the match.
New Zealand's bowlers gave away too many extras. They bowled 16 wides, and Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne conceded 8 and 6 of them. Michael Bracewell and Santner took two wickets each. Henry went for 57 runs in 3.4 overs.
The second T20I is on Saturday, October 24, at the same ground in Christchurch.