India completed a four-wicket win over New Zealand at Hagley Oval in Christchurch with one ball remaining. Having won the toss, India chose to field, and that call looked sound for long stretches. New Zealand still reached 180 for 5 in their 20 overs, and the total owed plenty to a middle order that rebuilt after a shaky start.
The top order lost its footing early. Tim Seifert was gone in the first over with the score on 9, Daryl Mitchell followed at 18, and Finn Allen fell at 41 in the sixth over. Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs then took control. Phillips made 70 off 43 balls with four fours and four sixes, while Jacobs added 58 off 46 with five fours and a six. Phillips fell in the 18th over with the score on 157, and Jacobs went in the 19th at 165, which limited how far New Zealand could push in the closing overs. Nine extras helped the total along.
India's reply was shaped by the bowling. Arshdeep Singh took 2 for 33 in four overs, while Prince Yadav (1 for 30) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1 for 31) chipped in with key wickets. New Zealand's bowlers had their own answer. Mitchell Santner's 4 for 21 in four overs was the standout spell of the match, and Nathan Smith (1 for 34) and Jacob Duffy (1 for 41) backed him up. Santner's figures were the reason India's chase needed more than a steady start.
The chase turned in the middle overs. India were 40 for 1 after 4.4 overs, but by the 10.5th over they were 70 for 5. Four wickets fell for 30 runs in that window, those of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel. Naman Dhir then played the innings that kept India in the contest, scoring 31 off 17 balls with three sixes before he was out at 112 in the 15th over. That left 69 to win from five overs. Tilak Varma stayed unbeaten on 51 off 26 balls, with six fours and a six, and saw India across the line.
The result gives India a win in a two-match stage of the series, though the facts in this report cover only this game, so its place in the wider series standings cannot be settled here. What is clear is the margin. New Zealand's 180 was a total that most sides would have fancied defending, and India's late acceleration, sparked by Dhir and finished by Tilak, showed how quickly a chase can change after a collapse.