Auckland: Century-maker Glenn Phillips and fast bowler Jacob Duffy headlined the “complete performance” that New Zealand had been looking for as the hosts scripted a dominating 87-run victory over a vastly underwhelming India in the fourth T20 International here on Friday.
The Shreyas Iyer-led India have already won the first three T20Is to take an irreversible lead in the five-match series, but the result helped the Kiwis to finally register themselves on the score-line and make it 3-1.
Phillips’ 49-ball 107 and his fifth-wicket alliance of 115 off a mere 41 balls with an equally bruising Michael Bracewell (65, 25 balls) carried the hosts to 259 for seven after being invited to bat.
It was the highest T20I total against India by any team, and in reply, the visitors endured their first real collapse of the tour to end at an inadequate 172 for nine on a pitch that had a hint of extra bounce.
India needed a strong start to reach anywhere close to the target but Duffy (4/23) poured cold water over their ambitions, taking out both Sanju Samson (4) and Ishan Kishan (0) in the first over itself.
The team never really recovered from that disastrous beginning and the highest partnership that India could stitch on the day was a 46-run third-wicket stand between skipper Shreyas Iyer and Abhishek Sharma.
An unusually subdued Abhishek (27, 15 balls) fell to Matthew Fisher, lifting the pacer straight to New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner in the covers. Santner had stated a few days ago that the Black Caps were close to getting a complete performance in the high-scoring series.
Iyer (22, 11 balls) tried to give room to Adam Milne but the 143kmph delivery sneaked past his bat to rearrange the stumps.
Santner (2/23) too was his tidy self, never allowing the Indian batters any momentum in the post power-play overs.
India were 61 for four after the power-play, and the chase only went pear-shaped from that point for them.
Earlier, Phillips (107, 49 balls) and Bracewell were the apostles of an aggressive approach from New Zealand.
After Tim Siefert (3) and Daryl Mitchell (24) succumbed to pacer Mayank Yadav, New Zealand found a foothold through the 59-run stand between Phillips and Finn Allen (31, 17 balls) for the third wicket.
After Allen and Bevon Jacobs (7) went back in rather quick succession, Phillips and Bracewell tore into the Indian attack with a blistering array of shots.
Phillips used his brute power first against pacer Prince Yadav, collecting a six and a couple of fours. The right-hander was then even more brutal against Nitish Reddy.
Phillips, who reached his fifty in 31 balls, exploited the gentle pace of Reddy to optimum effect, carting him for a four and four consecutive maximums to score 32 runs in the 16th over.
The final six of that sequence over sight screen was glorious in its execution, a straight elbow giving his shot power and timing.
At the other end, Bracewell was equally and, sometimes, even more bruising than Phillips.
The left-hander used his favourable match-up against left-arm spinner Axar Patel to peel off 4, 4, 4 and 6 in an over as he reached fifty in just 18 balls.
Mayank was India’s most impressive bowler on the day, hustling the batters with deliveries in the mid-140s.
But that extreme pace became his bane as Bracewell used it to eke out two sixes in a row through a flick and a scoop.
He fell leg before to Prince after reaching his fifty, but that did not stop Phillips.
It was a stunning alliance that lifted New Zealand to 227 for five in 17.2 overs from 112 for four in the 11th over.
The 29-year-old Phillips soon reached his third T20I hundred off just 46 balls with a straight six off pacer Arshdeep Singh, who later claimed his 150th T20I wicket to become the first Indian to achieve the feat.
Phillips’ second fifty came in just 15 balls, and it was symbolic of New Zealand’s total dominance on the day.
Phillips fell to Reddy after going past the three-figure mark, but his job was done by then as New Zealand milked 85 runs from the last five overs.
