India lead New Zealand 2-0 after record chase and Tilak's rescue

Update, 24 Oct 2026: India won the second T20I too, by four wickets with one ball to spare, to lead the five-match series 2-0. Tilak Varma's unbeaten half-century rescued India from 70 for 5 after Mitchell Santner took 4 for 21, ESPNcricinfo, Outlook India and Yahoo Sports reported. The report is in the new section below.

India chased down 226 to beat New Zealand by four wickets with two balls to spare in the first T20 International at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Thursday, 22 October. It was India's highest successful chase in T20 Internationals, ESPNcricinfo and IANS reported, and it gives India a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Sanju Samson set up the chase with 67 off 33 balls, captain Shreyas Iyer made 42, and Naman Dhir finished it with an unbeaten 42 off 15, hitting a six over the keeper in the final over. Earlier, Glenn Phillips had carried New Zealand to 225 for 4 with an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls.

Key points

• Result: India 230/6 (19.4 overs) beat New Zealand 225/4 (20 overs) by four wickets.
• Record: India's highest successful chase in T20Is, according to ESPNcricinfo and IANS.
• Top scores: Samson 67 off 33, Iyer 42 off 28, Dhir 42 not out off 15; for New Zealand, Phillips 82 not out off 40, Finn Allen 45 off 24.
• The match produced 455 runs.
• 2nd T20I, 24 October: New Zealand 180/5, India 181/6 in 19.5 overs; India won by four wickets and lead 2-0. Tilak Varma was player of the match.
• Next: the third T20I is at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on Tuesday, 27 October.

The scorecard in brief

Figures from the match reports of Yardbarker, IANS and Outlook India.

How New Zealand got to 225

Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl, with dew expected later in the evening, Outlook India and Yardbarker reported. New Zealand made full use of the decision.

Finn Allen gave the innings a quick start with 45 off 24 balls before he was caught at long-off off Axar Patel. New Zealand scored 65 in the powerplay, 93 in the middle overs and 67 in the last five, IANS reported.

The innings belonged to Glenn Phillips. He reached his 13th T20I fifty and finished on 82 not out off 40 balls, ending with a switch-hit four in the final over. He added 73 for the fourth wicket with Bevon Jacobs, who hit 31 off 16, including a six off his first ball, from Arshdeep Singh, before he was run out.

India's bowlers had a hard night. Every one of them went for more than 10 an over, according to IANS. Mayank Yadav removed Tim Seifert, Arshdeep Singh had Daryl Mitchell caught, and Axar dismissed Allen. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, back in India's T20I side, went wicketless, Outlook India reported. India also dropped Mitchell on 16.

How India chased it down

India's reply started at full speed. Abhishek Sharma hit a six off the first ball of the chase, and he and Samson brought up the fifty in 3.2 overs, Outlook India reported. Samson and Abhishek added 93 for the first wicket in 35 balls, ESPNcricinfo reported, and India reached 94 for 1 at the end of the powerplay, according to IANS.

Samson reached his fifty off 23 balls, his 11th in T20Is according to a BCCI post cited by Yardbarker, and finished with 67 off 33 balls, including eight fours and four sixes, before Mitchell Santner bowled him in the ninth over.

Then New Zealand hit back through their spinners. Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner took two wickets each, and India lost Abhishek (29 off 12), Samson, Tilak Varma (6) and Ishan Kishan (1). India slipped to 122 for 4, IANS reported.

Iyer steadied the innings with 42 off 28 balls, helped by a dropped catch from Allen, and Axar Patel added 24 off 14 before Lockie Ferguson removed him. When Iyer fell at the start of the 19th over, caught by Santner off Adam Milne, India still needed quick runs.

Naman Dhir, dropped once by Ferguson, took charge. India needed eight off the last over, bowled by Matt Henry. Dhir drove the first ball, a full toss, for four, and then top-edged a short ball over the keeper for six to win the match with two balls left, IANS and Yardbarker reported. He finished on 42 not out off just 15 balls.

Over-rate penalties

Both sides were penalised for slow over-rates late in their innings, which forced the fielding side to keep an extra fielder inside the 30-yard circle, Yardbarker and IANS reported. In a match this close, the extra fielder in the circle made the last overs harder for both bowling sides.

Records and numbers

• India's highest successful T20I chase: 226, according to ESPNcricinfo and IANS. Outlook India also called it India's highest successful chase at Hagley Oval.
• 455 runs were scored in the match, IANS reported.
• Abhishek Sharma hit a record seventh first-ball six in T20Is, according to IANS.
• Samson's six off Henry was India's 350th T20I six of 2026, the most by any team in a calendar year, IANS reported.
• New Zealand gave away 17 extras, and Ferguson's first over cost 22 runs, IANS reported.

What it means for the series

India came to New Zealand after a drawn home T20I series against West Indies, and this is the first of five T20Is before five ODIs from 4 November and two Tests from 19 November. Read our full guide: India tour of New Zealand 2026 schedule and squads.

The win says a lot about the depth of India's T20 batting. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya were not in the side, Outlook India reported, and India still chased 226 away from home after losing four wickets for 29 runs in the middle of the innings. The lower order, led by Dhir, held its nerve.

The bowling is the worry. Conceding 225 on a good batting pitch is not unusual, but five bowlers went for 40 or more, and India will want better control with the new ball and at the death on Saturday.

For New Zealand, Phillips's form and Allen's starts are the positives. Dropped catches and wides in Ferguson's first over cost them, and they will look to tighten up in the field.

2nd T20I: Tilak and Reddy pull India through

India won the toss and bowled again at Hagley Oval on Saturday, 24 October. New Zealand lost three wickets in the powerplay, then Glenn Phillips (70 off 43) and Bevon Jacobs (58 off 46) added 116 for the fourth wicket to take them to 180 for 5, Outlook India and CricketNews reported. Arshdeep Singh took 2 for 33.

India's chase started badly. Ishan Kishan was ruled out with a groin injury, and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came into the side but made only 4. Sanju Samson (14), Abhishek Sharma (27), captain Shreyas Iyer (7) and Axar Patel (11) followed, and India were 70 for 5 after 11 overs as left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner took 4 for 21.

Tilak Varma turned it around. He and Naman Dhir (31 off 17) added 42 for the sixth wicket, and Tilak reached his fifty off 25 balls, finishing unbeaten on 51, according to Outlook India and Yahoo Sports. India needed 11 off the last over from Jacob Duffy, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, also unbeaten, hit the winning runs off the penultimate ball. New Zealand dropped several catches, which ESPNcricinfo described as sloppy fielding. Tilak was named player of the match.

The third T20I is at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on Tuesday, 27 October, at 12:30 pm IST, according to CricketNews.

Players to watch for the rest of the series

• Naman Dhir: His finishing on Thursday will push his case for a regular place in the lower middle order.
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Back in India's T20I side for the first time in about four years, he went for 49 without a wicket in Christchurch. Swing with the new ball is what India picked him for.
• Abhishek Sharma: His first-ball six set the tone again. His starts at the top give India a fast platform in chases.
• Glenn Phillips: New Zealand's best batter on the night and a threat at the death.
• Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell: The spin pair who briefly turned the game with four wickets between them.

Times for Indian fans

New Zealand is seven and a half hours ahead of India during its daylight saving period, so an evening start in Christchurch is around midday in India. Check the official schedule for exact start times before the second T20I on Saturday, 24 October, again at Hagley Oval.

India have the lead and the record. If the bowlers can match the batters on Saturday, the series could tilt firmly India's way.