Christchurch: Sanju Samson maintained his remarkable consistency this calendar year with a sublime 67 off 33 balls as India pulled off their highest chase in T20 cricket, overcoming a mid-innings stumble for a four-wicket win in the series-opener against New Zealand here on Thursday.
Put in to bat, Finn Allen (45 off 24) and Glenn Phillips (82 not out off 40) fired New Zealand to a steep 225/8, highlighting India’s struggles with the ball.
However, Samson ensured a flying start for the visitors before a middle overs collapse made the game interesting. Eventually, cameos from captain Shreyas Iyer (42) and Naman Dhir (42 not out off 15) helped India get over the line in a tense chase with two balls to spare.
The second T20 of the five-match series will also be played at the Hagley Oval on Saturday.
The game looked as good as done with India racing to 94 for one in the powerplay.
However, the visiting team faltered against the home spin duo of Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell in the middle overs, losing three wickets for seven runs to spice up the contest.
From 93 for no loss, India slipped to 122 for four in the 11th over.
The long boundaries here also came into play as the likes of Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma perished trying to clear the ropes.
The middle order failed to capitalise on the electric start provided by Samson, who collected eight boundaries and four sixes in his brilliant effort. It was Samson’s eighth fifty-plus score in 26 innings this year, highlighting his consistent run in a high risk format.
He mainly targeted the straight boundary and his standout hit was the flick off Lockie Ferguson that went sailing over long-on.
Abhishek Sharma (29 off 12) was happy to play second fiddle in the 93-run opening stand. He pulled Adam Milne for consecutive sixes in the fourth over to get into the act.
Following the middle overs slip, Shreyas took the game deep and also had luck going his way. Finn Allen dropped a tough catch in the 15th over, leaving India to get 55 runs off the last 30 balls with five wickets to spare.
Batting alongside the skipper, Naman came up with timely strikes to release pressure.
