Sanju Samson's whirlwind innings of 67 from 33 balls set up a record run chase in which India beat New Zealand by four wickets overnight in the first of five Twenty20s.
Samson shared an opening partnership of 93 in just 5.5 overs with Abhishek Sharma which allowed India to surpass New Zealand's 225-5 with two balls remaining. India's total of 230-6 topped its previous best T20 run chase of 211 against Sri Lanka in 2009.
Glenn Phillips scored an unbeaten 82 from 40 balls as New Zealand challenged India to achieve it's highest-ever successful run chase in T20 cricket.
Samson's extraordinary innings answered that challenge. He reached his half-century from 23 balls and delighted a crowd of mostly Indian fans at Hagley Oval by sending four huge sixes hurtling into the gallery.
Sharma made 29 from 12 balls with three sixes as India eclipsed New Zealand's score of 65-1 in the six-over powerplay which had seemed, at the time, more than competitive. India was 94-1 at the end of its powerplay with Samson still in full flight and the egos of the New Zealand seam bowlers thoroughly bruised.
Change of tactics
A change of tactics helped New Zealand gain a foothold in the match. The scoring slowed when the spinners were introduced and, first, Sharma fell to Michael Bracewell in the sixth over then Samson fell to Mitchell Santner in the ninth as India slipped to 122-4.
Captain Shreyas Iyer (42) and Axar Patel (24) restored India's momentum with a partnership of 45 for the fifth wicket. The tourists needed 55 runs from the last five overs and were guided home by Naman Dhir, who made 42 from 15 balls at a strike rate of 280.
Eight runs were needed from the last over bowled by Matt Henry and Dhir made the task easier by hitting the first ball for four. After two singles, Dhir hit the 13th six of the India innings to complete the chase.
No sign of jetlag
India landed in New Zealand only on Tuesday for a full tour, and trained once. But there was no sign of jetlag.
“When you are just in the moment when the match has been won, I think whatever contributions you make it always feels good to end up on the winning side,” Samson said. “It was really a team game today.”
New Zealand seemed to put India under pressure with a good batting effort after being sent in. Openers Finn Allen (45) and Tim Seifert (24) went on the attack early in a partnership of 49 in the first five overs.
Daryl Mitchell (28) and Bevon Jacobs (31) kept the runs coming through the middle of the innings while Phillips produced a superb finishing innings of 82 with three sixes and eight fours.
New Zealand's total looked competitive but couldn't withstand the early assault of Samson, who posted his eighth score of 50 or more in 26 T20 innings this year.
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