New Zealand Beat India by 87 Runs as Phillips Hits Record 107 in 4th T20I at Auckland

Photo: Assam Tribune

New Zealand beat India by 87 runs in the fourth T20I at Eden Park, Auckland, on Friday, as Glenn Phillips smashed 107 off 49 balls to lift the Black Caps to a record total of 259 for 7.

India, chasing 260, were bowled out for 172 for 9 in their 20 overs. The win is New Zealand's first of the five match series, which India already lead 3 to 1, with the final game to come in Hamilton on Sunday.

Main News Report

India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss for the fourth match in a row and again chose to bowl first. For a while it looked like a good call. New Zealand slipped to 112 for 4 in the 11th over, and the Eden Park crowd of almost 40,000 waited for the innings to stall.

Phillips had other plans. He reached his fifty off 31 balls, then took 40 runs off his next 11 balls, including four sixes in a row off one Nitish Kumar Reddy over. He brought up his hundred off just 46 balls with a lofted drive off Arshdeep Singh, equalling his own record for the fastest T20I hundred by a New Zealand man.

Michael Bracewell gave him the perfect support at the other end. The pair put on 115 runs off just 40 balls for the fifth wicket, and Bracewell's 65 off 25 balls was his highest score in T20I cricket. Phillips finally fell in the last over for 107, made with six fours and 10 sixes, but Nathan Smith finished the innings with a four and New Zealand closed on 259 for 7.

It is a total full of records. It is New Zealand's highest score in T20I cricket, beating the 254 for 5 they made against Scotland in Edinburgh in 2022. It is also the highest total any team has made against India in the format, passing England's 257 for 3 at Southampton earlier this year. And it is the highest T20I score ever made at Eden Park.

India's chase never got going. Jacob Duffy struck twice in the first over, removing Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, and Abhishek Sharma, who had scored 113 off 38 balls earlier in the week to seal the series, fell for 27 off 15. Iyer himself went for 22 off 11, and India were 61 for 4 after six overs.

Captain Mitchell Santner then took two wickets in one over, and India were 107 for 6 at the halfway mark. Naman Dhir top scored with 28 off 13 balls, but the chase was long gone by then. Duffy finished with 4 for 23, and India closed on 172 for 9, losing by 87 runs.

Background Context

India arrived in Auckland 3 to 0 up in the series, having chased down targets of 198, 180 and 225 in the first three matches. New Zealand had come close in Christchurch, where Phillips scored 82 not out off 40 balls in the first game and 72 off 43 in the second, but still lost both.

That is what made Friday different. This time the big score came from New Zealand, and this time there was no way back for the chasing side. A target of 260 would have been a world record chase in T20I cricket, and India were out of the contest by the halfway stage of their innings.

Phillips is now only the second New Zealand man, after Colin Munro, to score three T20I hundreds. He had already scored 82 not out and 72 in the first two matches of this series in Christchurch, so Friday's hundred continued a run of form India have not been able to stop.

Reactions and Statements

Stuff, reporting from Eden Park, called it a spirit lifting win for the Black Caps, and noted how the crowd stayed for the show even as India fell away. The report said a large number of the almost 40,000 fans got up and left only after Dhir was dismissed, having already had their fill of entertainment.

Bracewell, speaking after the innings, praised Phillips as an entertainer, a fair description of a knock that included 10 sixes and a 32 run over off Reddy. For India, the night also had one small bright spot. Arshdeep Singh completed 150 T20I wickets during the game, becoming the first Indian bowler to reach the mark in the format.

India will still feel the defeat stung. Their bowlers went for 27 runs across the final two overs after Prince Yadav had given away just six in the 18th, and the chase was already beyond them by then.

Why This News Matters

For New Zealand, this was about pride. The series was already lost, but a record breaking win in front of a packed home crowd changes the feel of the tour. It gives the Black Caps something real to carry into the final game in Hamilton on Sunday, and it shows their batting can match anyone when Phillips fires.

For India, it is a warning before the next assignment. A bowling attack that had defended nothing all series suddenly had to defend a record total, and instead watched it grow. The 115 run stand between Phillips and Bracewell came at more than 17 runs an over, and that kind of hitting punishes even small mistakes in length.

For cricket fans in Pakistan, the match is a useful form guide too. Both sides play high tempo T20 cricket, and the way New Zealand rebuilt from 112 for 4 shows how quickly a game turns when two batters take on every bowler. It is the same fearless style Pakistan will need in their own white ball games.

Record	Old mark	New mark, Auckland 30 October
New Zealand's highest T20I total	254 for 5 vs Scotland, Edinburgh 2022	259 for 7 vs India
Highest total against India in T20Is	257 for 3 by England, Southampton 2026	259 for 7 by New Zealand
Phillips T20I hundreds	Two before this match	Three, joint most by a New Zealand man with Munro
Fastest New Zealand T20I hundred	46 balls, Phillips himself	46 balls again, Phillips

Future Developments

The fifth and final T20I takes place in Hamilton on Sunday night, with India leading 3 to 1 and the series already decided. New Zealand will want to finish with back to back wins, while India will want to prove Friday was a one off and not a sign of a bowling problem.

Watch for team news from both camps. India may rotate their bowlers after Reddy went for 64 runs in four overs, the most expensive figures of the night. New Zealand, meanwhile, will hope Phillips keeps the form that has now brought him 82 not out, 72 and 107 in his last three innings against India.

Read our earlier cricket coverage: England beat Sri Lanka by 55 runs in Lahore as Ben Duckett hit a career best 167, Everton reached the Carabao Cup quarter finals with a 3 to 1 win over Newcastle, and Liverpool beat Chelsea 6 to 5 on penalties in the League Cup.

Sources

Stuff: Phillips powers record-breaking Black Caps to spirit-lifting win over India; Sportstar: India vs New Zealand, Glenn Phillips scores third T20I century; Sportskeeda: Top 5 highest totals conceded by India in T20I history.

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