Samson 67 Takes India To Their Highest T20I Chase Of 226

India recorded their highest T20I chase at Hagley Oval on Thursday, hunting down 226 to beat New Zealand by four wickets with two balls left. Sanju Samson made 67 from 33 balls. India finished on 230 for 6 in 19.4 overs after New Zealand had posted 225 for 4. The five-match series opens 1-0 to the visitors.

Samson reached fifty from 23 balls. He hit eight fours and four sixes. Shreyas Iyer, captaining the side, made 42 from 28. Naman Dhir came in late and finished unbeaten off 15 balls. DNA named Samson player of the match.

Phillips lifts New Zealand to 225

India won the toss and bowled. For most of the first innings that looked wrong. Glenn Phillips was unbeaten on 82 from 40 balls, according to the IANS match report, with Finn Allen making 45 earlier. New Zealand's 225 for 4 is their highest T20I total against India, Outlook India reported.

India's attack had no answer at the death. IANS listed Mayank Yadav at 1 for 40 and Arshdeep Singh at 1 for 45. A total that size usually settles a T20I before the chase starts.

Phillips did most of the damage. Forty balls, 82 runs, not out. He has made a habit of arriving at the fall of the third wicket and changing the arithmetic. New Zealand were well placed before he walked in and out of sight by the time he finished.

Samson's 33-ball answer

Abhishek Sharma set the tempo with 29 from 12 balls, IANS reported. That innings opened with his seventh first-ball six in the format, a record. Samson then took over.

His six off Matt Henry was India's 350th in T20Is this calendar year. No team has hit more in a year. Henry finished with none for 57. Mitchell Santner took 2 for 39 and Michael Bracewell 2 for 37. Neither spell slowed the rate enough.

Iyer's 42 from 28 held the middle together. Dhir then closed it out off 15 balls. India needed 230 and got there with two deliveries spare. Nobody in the top seven faced more than 33 balls, which is what a chase of this size demands.

The 209 that had stood since 2023

India's previous best successful T20I chase was 209. They made it against Australia at Visakhapatnam in 2023. They matched it against New Zealand at Raipur earlier this year. The new mark clears both by 17 runs.

Below those sit 208 against West Indies at Hyderabad in 2019 and 207 against Sri Lanka at Mohali in 2009. Four of India's six highest chases have come since 2019. Three have come against New Zealand.

India lead the head-to-head 19-11 in 31 completed T20Is, according to the preview published by Cricketnews. They have won their last two bilateral T20I series in New Zealand. The sides last met in the T20 World Cup final in March, which India won.

Four more at four venues

The series stays in Christchurch for the second match, then moves north. The remaining fixtures:

• 2nd T20I, Hagley Oval, Christchurch, 24 October
• 3rd T20I, Sky Stadium, Wellington, 27 October
• 4th T20I, Eden Park, Auckland, 30 October
• 5th T20I, Seddon Park, Hamilton, 1 November

Hagley Oval had hosted 13 men's T20Is before Thursday. Home and away wins were split evenly, with one no result. India had never played a men's T20I at the ground. They have now, and they have the ground record to go with it.

Two of the five matches are at venues India have not visited recently in this format. Wellington comes three days after the second Christchurch game. Hamilton closes the series on 1 November. Squads built for five matches in eleven days tend to be decided by who is still standing in the fourth, not by who batted best in the first.

Eden Park is still to come. Its straight boundaries are the shortest in international cricket. On this evidence neither attack will enjoy them. New Zealand have 48 hours to find a death-overs plan. They will be working on it at the same ground and against the same batters. The surface has just produced 455 runs in 39.4 overs.