His flying start helps India sail over Kiwis by 4 wickets
Christchurch: Sanju Samson smashed a sublime 67 off 33 balls to set up India’s record chase in T20Is as the visitors beat New Zealand by four wickets in the series opener here on Thursday.
Chasing 226, India raced to 94 for one in the powerplay before a middle-order collapse saw them slip to 122 for four. Captain Shreyas Iyer (42) and Naman Dhir (42 not out off 15 balls) then rose to the occasion, taking India home with two balls to spare.
Samson struck eight fours and four sixes in his eighth fifty-plus score in 26 innings this year. Abhishek Sharma contributed 29 off 12 balls in a 93-run opening stand.
Earlier, Glenn Phillips smashed an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls while Finn Allen hammered 45 off 24 as New Zealand posted 225 for eight after being asked to bat. Tim Seifert made 24, while Bevon Jacobs added a quickfire 31 off 16 balls.
Axar Patel was India’s most expensive bowler, conceding 51 runs in four overs, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished wicketless with 49 runs in four overs on his return to international cricket after nearly four years.
The second match of the five-T20I series will be played at Hagley Oval on Saturday.
