India's Clean Sweep Hopes Shattered as New Zealand Wins 4th T20I by 87 Runs

India's quest for a clean sweep in the five-match T20I series came to an end after an 87-run defeat against New Zealand in the fourth match at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday. Despite holding an unassailable 3-0 lead, the Shreyas Iyer-led side fell short while chasing a mammoth target.

New Zealand won the toss and posted a record-breaking 259/7 in their 20 overs, marking their highest-ever T20I total and the highest score by any team against India in the format.

Match Summary and Key Performances

• Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
• Date: Friday
• Format: T20I
• Result: New Zealand defeated India by 87 runs
• New Zealand Innings: 259/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 107, Michael Bracewell 65)
• India Innings: 172/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 35, Abhishek Sharma 27)

Glenn Phillips starred for the hosts with a blistering 107 off 49 balls, hitting six fours and 10 sixes for his third T20I century. He was well supported by Michael Bracewell, who smashed 65 off 25 deliveries, as the pair added 115 runs for the fifth wicket in just 40 balls. Finn Allen (31) and Daryl Mitchell (24) also contributed significantly.

For India, Mayank Yadav claimed three wickets for 48 runs, while Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, and Nitish Kumar Reddy picked up one wicket each. During the match, Arshdeep became the first Indian bowler to reach 150 wickets in T20Is.

India's Chase and Team Changes

Chasing 260, India suffered an immediate setback when fast bowler Jacob Duffy dismissed both openers, Sanju Samson and returning player Ishan Kishan, in the opening over. India continued to lose wickets regularly, ending their innings at 172/9.

• Tilak Varma top-scored for India with 35 runs.
• Abhishek Sharma contributed 27, and Naman Dhir added 28.
• Jacob Duffy was the standout bowler for New Zealand, taking four wickets for 23 runs.

India made two changes to their playing XI, bringing back Ishan Kishan and Mayank Yadav in place of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With the series currently standing at 3-1, the fifth and final T20I is scheduled for Sunday at Seddon Park in Hamilton.