Phillips’ Century and Duffy’s Brace Lead New Zealand to 87‑Run Victory over India

Fourth T20I – Auckland, 30 October (local time)

New Zealand and India met for the fourth match of their five‑game T20 International series at the Eden Park complex. The Black Caps, already down 3‑0, needed a win to keep the series alive. India won the toss and chose to field first.

Key performances

• Glenn Phillips – 107 runs off 49 balls (6 fours, 10 sixes). His knock was the second century of the series and the first ever by a New Zealand player in this contest.
• Michael Bracewell – 65 runs off 25 balls, hitting six sixes and four fours.
• Jacob Duffy – 4 wickets for 23 runs in his four‑over spell, the best figures for New Zealand in the series so far.
• India’s early loss – Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan fell in the very first over, both dismissed by Duffy’s brace.
• Middle‑order contributions – Abhishek Sharma added 27 runs, while captain Shreyas Iyer managed 22 before being run out in the powerplay.

Final scores

• New Zealand: 259/7 (20 overs) – the highest total ever recorded by the side in a T20 International, surpassing the previous record of 254/5 set against Scotland in 2022.
• India: 172/9 (20 overs) – fell short by 87 runs.

Team changes

• India introduced Ishan Kishan and Mayank Yadav for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
• New Zealand lost Tim Seifert and Daryl Mitchell early in the powerplay, but the partnership between Phillips and Bracewell steadied the innings.

Implications

• The series score moves to 3‑1 in India’s favour, with one match remaining in Hamilton on 1 November.
• New Zealand’s record total demonstrates the depth of its batting firepower, especially in the death overs.
• India’s top‑order collapse highlights the risk of early wickets against aggressive pace.

How to verify

All figures and match details are available on the International Cricket Council’s official website (icc-cricket.com) under the New Zealand vs India T20I series page. Live commentary archives and the full scorecard can be cross‑checked for accuracy.

--- Upcoming fixture

• Fifth T20I: 1 November, Hamilton – the series decider.

*The article is based on ICC‑released match reports and does not contain any unverified statements.*