New Zealand End India’s 10-Match Unbeaten T20I Run With 87-Run Win In Auckland

New Zealand’s 87-run win over India in the fourth T20I at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday brought Team India’s unbeaten T20I record against the hosts in New Zealand to an end.

Glenn Phillips and Jacob Duffy were key to the home side’s dominant performance. India had gone 10 straight T20Is in New Zealand without a defeat between 2020 and 2026, but that streak ended on Friday.

The loss was also India’s second-biggest defeat by runs in T20I cricket, according to The Indian Express. Even so, Shreyas Iyer’s side had already wrapped up the five-match series with a 3-1 lead.

Phillips Duffy Dominate

India opted to bowl first, but New Zealand made full use of the chance and raced to 259/7 in 20 overs. It was their highest T20I total and the highest score any side has managed against India in the format.

Phillips led the charge with 107 off 49 balls, including six fours and 10 sixes, for his third T20I century. Bracewell added 65 off 25 balls, and the pair put on 115 runs for the fifth wicket in just 41 deliveries. Finn Allen made 31 off 17 balls, while Daryl Mitchell scored 24 off nine.

Mayank Yadav removed Tim Seifert and Mitchell before Phillips and Allen added 59 for the third wicket. The real damage came later, when Phillips and Bracewell took control.

Phillips attacked Nitish Kumar Reddy in the 16th over with four straight sixes, an over that cost India 32 runs. Bracewell then went after Axar Patel, striking three fours and a six in one over and bringing up his fifty in 18 balls. Phillips reached his hundred in 46 balls with a six off Arshdeep Singh, and his second half-century came in only 15 deliveries.

New Zealand collected 85 runs in the final five overs. Mayank finished as India’s leading wicket-taker with 3/48, while Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy took one wicket each. Arshdeep also became the first Indian bowler to reach 150 wickets in T20Is.

India Chase Falters

Jacob Duffy struck immediately. He removed Sanju Samson for four and Ishan Kishan for a duck in the first over of India’s chase, leaving the visitors under early pressure. India never fully recovered from that opening blow.

Abhishek Sharma countered with 27 off 15 balls, and captain Shreyas Iyer made 22 off 11 deliveries. They shared 46 runs for the third wicket before Matthew Fisher broke the stand by dismissing Abhishek, who picked out Mitchell Santner in the covers.

Adam Milne then pushed India back. He bowled Iyer with a delivery clocked at 143 kmph. Santner kept India under pressure through the middle overs and took two wickets to stop another partnership from forming.

The chase faded from there. Tilak Varma top-scored for India with 35 off 35 balls and Naman Dhir made 28 off 13 deliveries. Duffy finished with 4/23, while Fisher took two wickets and Santner also claimed two as India closed on 172/9 in 20 overs and lost by 87 runs.

Streaks And Series

India’s 10-match unbeaten run against New Zealand in New Zealand was among the longest unbeaten streaks between Full Member teams in T20I cricket.

Only India’s 11-match unbeaten run against Sri Lanka in India from 2016 to 2023 was longer. New Zealand had also put together a nine-match unbeaten home record against Bangladesh from 2010 to 2022, while Pakistan matched that with a nine-match streak against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe from 2011 to 2021.

India will now look to finish the series with a win when they meet New Zealand in the fifth and final T20I on Sunday at Seddon Park in Hamilton.