Phillips’ century, Duffy’s four-for hand India crushing 87-run defeat

Auckland: New Zealand gave India a taste of their own medicine as Glenn Phillips’ century and Jacob Duffy’s four-wicket haul powered the hosts to a huge 87-run win over India in the fourth T20I at Eden Park here on Friday.

Phillips smashed 107 off 49 balls, while Michael Bracewell hit 65 off 25 deliveries to take New Zealand to a record 259/7. The bowlers then restricted India to 172/9 in the chase.

This was New Zealand’s first win in the ongoing T20I series, with India having already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead. The series now stands at 3-1.

The New Zealand batters meted out a punishing treatment to the Indian bowlers. Phillips and Bracewell put up a 115-run stand off 40 balls for the fifth wicket to power the hosts to their highest T20I total and the highest score against India in the format.

Duffy was the star with the ball for New Zealand in what was a rare blip from the Indian batters. Chasing such a steep target was always going to be extremely difficult. The visitors gave it a go but could not find the boundaries at will.

Duffy removed opener Sanju Samson (4) and No. 3 Ishan Kishan (0) in the first over to rock the Indian batting. Abhishek Sharma (27) and Shreyas Iyer (22) looked for quick runs, but the former miscued a shot to mid-off in the fifth over, giving Matthew Fisher his first wicket.

Shreyas followed soon, getting bowled by Adam Milne in the sixth over, leaving India struggling at 61/4 at the end of the powerplay.

In-form Naman Dhir (28) and Tilak Varma (35) were at the crease, but Dhir was dismissed by Duffy in the 12th over. Daryl Mitchell and Nathan Smith combined to take a brilliant relay catch near the deep mid-wicket boundary.

Duffy struck again when he had Arshdeep Singh caught at deep point for a golden duck. Tilak was left to bat with the tail. He found some boundaries, but the required run rate had already climbed to nearly 25 before the death overs, leaving India with little chance beyond damage control.

Tilak made a run-a-ball 35 before being dismissed by Fisher in the second-last over. He skied the ball, and wicketkeeper Tim Seifert took a well-judged running and diving catch.

Prince Yadav found a boundary off an edge on the final ball of the 19th over and hit a six in the final over, but India were restricted to 172/9, with Prince unbeaten on 18. Duffy finished with four wickets in a strong performance with the ball.

Earlier, New Zealand had probably batted India out of the contest with a jaw-dropping display in the first innings. Their 259/7 was the highest T20I total by New Zealand, surpassing their previous best of 254/5 against Scotland four years ago. It was also the highest total by any team against India in the format, going past England’s 257/3 in Southampton earlier this year.

The Indian bowlers had a tough time in the middle and were subjected to a punishing assault, similar to the treatment Indian batters had generally meted out to the Kiwis in the series.

Nitish Kumar Reddy was hit for 32 runs in an over, while Axar Patel, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav were also taken to task. Arshdeep Singh achieved a significant milestone during the game, completing 150 T20I wickets to become the first Indian to reach the mark in the format.

For India, Mayank Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-48 in his four overs on his return. Arshdeep, Prince Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy also picked up a wicket each.

Brief scores: New Zealand 259/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 107, Michael Bracewell 65; Mayank Yadav 3-48, Arshdeep Singh 1-38) beat India 172/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 35, Naman Dhir 28; Jacob Duffy 4-23, Mitchell Santner 2-24) by 87 runs.