Glenn Phillips sets record for most runs in a bilateral T20I series

The fifth T20I at Seddon Park in Hamilton on November 1, 2026 brought the curtain down on a record-breaking series for Glenn Phillips. The New Zealand batter finished the five-match contest against India with 341 runs, the highest tally ever recorded by any batter in a bilateral T20I series. Phillips became only the third batter in history to reach 300 or more runs in a single bilateral T20I series, a milestone that underlines the consistency he maintained across all five matches.

His 341 surpassed the previous overall best of 331 runs, which Phil Salt had accumulated for England against West Indies in 2023. Mohammad Rizwan had set 316 runs for Pakistan against England in 2022, while Sahil Chauhan of Estonia had scored 297 runs against Cyprus in 2024.

Most Runs by a Player in a Men's T20I Bilateral Series:

341* - Glenn Phillips (New Zealand) vs India, in New Zealand, 2026, This Series*
331 - Phil Salt (England) vs West Indies, in West Indies, 2023
 316 - Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan) vs England, in Pakistan, 2022
297 - Sahil Chauhan (Estonia) vs Cyprus, in Cyprus, 2024
290 - Mark Chapman (New Zealand) vs Pakistan, in Pakistan, 2023

Within New Zealand's own bilateral T20I series history, Chapman's national record of 290 runs against Pakistan in 2023 was the previous benchmark. Finn Allen had scored 275 against Pakistan in 2024, Tim Seifert contributed 249 against Pakistan in 2025, and Colin Munro had set an earlier mark of 223 against West Indies in 2017.

How did Phillips build his record tally across the five matches?

Half-centuries in the opening matches laid the foundation before Phillips produced the defining innings of the series in the fourth T20I at Eden Park in Auckland on October 30, 2026. New Zealand were trailing 1-2 at that stage when Phillips struck 107 off 49 balls. During that knock, he and Michael Bracewell put on 115 runs off 40 balls for the fifth wicket, a stand confirmed as the fastest century partnership against India in T20Is and the fourth-fastest 100-plus stand against any Full Member nation in the format.

New Zealand posted 259 for 7 in that fourth match, their highest-ever total in T20I cricket. India had already secured an unassailable 3-0 lead before that game was played. The century in Auckland also brought Phillips his 10th Player of the Match award in T20Is, equalling Martin Guptill's record for the most such awards by a New Zealand player in the format. It was during that same innings that Phillips moved past Shai Hope's mark of 261 runs scored against India in a T20I series in 2026, which had stood as the record for most runs against India in a bilateral T20I series.