India pulled off a thrilling run chase to beat New Zealand by four wickets in the 1st T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch on 22 October 2026. Chasing 226, India got home in 19.3 overs, with Sanju Samson and Naman Dhir doing the heavy lifting. It is being called India’s highest successful T20I chase on New Zealand soil, and it gives Shreyas Iyer’s side a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
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IND vs NZ 1st T20I: Scorecard summary
- New Zealand: 225/4 in 20 overs
- India: 226/6 in 19.3 overs
- Result: India won by 4 wickets (3 balls to spare)
- Toss: India won the toss and chose to bowl
- Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch (India’s first men’s T20I at this ground)
New Zealand innings: Glenn Phillips fires
Glenn Phillips smashed an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls (8 fours, 3 sixes). Finn Allen added 45 off 24 and debutant Bevon Jacobs made 31 off 16. New Zealand piled on 67 runs in the last five overs. For India, Mayank Yadav took 1/40 and Arshdeep Singh picked up a wicket, while Axar Patel went for 51.
India’s chase: Samson sets it up, Dhir finishes it
- Sanju Samson: 67 off 33 balls, fifty in just 23 balls
- Abhishek Sharma: 29 off 12 (3 sixes)
- Shreyas Iyer (c): 32 off 19
- Naman Dhir: 42* off 17 balls
Mitchell Santner (2/37) kept New Zealand in the game, but Dhir’s late hitting turned it India’s way. Nitish Kumar Reddy hit the winning boundary with three balls left.
IND vs NZ T20I series 2026: Remaining schedule
- 2nd T20I: 24 October, Hagley Oval, Christchurch
- 3rd T20I: 27 October, Sky Stadium, Wellington
- 4th T20I: 30 October, Eden Park, Auckland
- 5th T20I: 1 November, Seddon Park, Hamilton
All matches start at 12:30 PM IST. India now lead the head-to-head in T20Is 20-11, and the two sides last met in the T20 World Cup final in March, which India won by 96 runs.
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Source: ESPNcricinfo; The Sunday Guardian; Olympics.com (22 October 2026). Image: Michal Klajban, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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