Samson, Iyer and Dhir pull off record chase against NZ

India took their T20 playbook to Christchurch five days after a potential run-fest at the Chinnaswamy stadium didn't end. They wrote the ending themselves. Chasing 225, New Zealand’s highest total at home, they got there with two balls to spare for their highest successful chase in T20Is.

Sanju Samson all but settled it inside six overs. Together with Abhishek Sharma, he made a 33-ball 67 and scored 93 in the Powerplay. The remainder ought to be game management, but India faltered. Then, Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer steadied the middle, before Naman Dhir, adding another chapter to a growing reputation, closed it out with an unbeaten 42 off 15.

That the finish was ever in doubt was the work of Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner, whose spin through the middle overs (4 for 29 in one phase) briefly turned a jog into a scramble. But India had enough batting depth on a dewy evening at the Hagley Oval, with the ball skidding and the grip slipping, to take an early series lead.

India could plan their chase even on a day when all five of their bowlers conceded more than 40 runs for the first time in a T20I because the dew made Iyer's toss important. It had started off well enough. Three Powerplay overs were close, but the remaining three cost fifty dollars. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, bowling in India colours after four years, found his lengths early and swung the ball into the two right-handed openers, cramping them for room. Then a no-ball in the second over flicked a switch. The floodgates opened when the free-hit hit the boundary. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert found back-to-back 17-run overs off Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep Singh, and Axar was hit for two sixes to close the Powerplay.

In the Powerplay, Mayank Yadav, who is more popular than Prince Yadav, struck and severed Seifert's neck. He ought to have Daryl Mitchell as well, but Mitchell responded with boundaries off the subsequent two balls after Abhishek hit a sitter at long-on. At the other end, Allen renewed his duel with Axar, twice clearing him down the ground. Axar’s reply was to drag his length back. Allen went across the line, miscued to long-off, and fell to the left-arm spinner once more, just as he had in the T20 World Cup final.

When Arshdeep removed Mitchell with the first ball of the 13th over, New Zealand were 122 for 3. Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs combined for 73 runs to score the next 103 runs. Jacobs announced himself by hitting his first ball for six. Phillips took Axar for three boundaries in a row the next over, and the platform for the death overs was set. In an 18-run final over from Mayank, Phillips scored fifty off 27 balls and hit sixes with Jacobs, detracting from his otherwise strong performance. Arshdeep kept one over under ten, but the last five still cost India 67, and New Zealand sailed past 200 and added plenty more.

India’s reply came out swinging. Abhishek hit his first ball for six, by now almost a ritual, and Samson found the boundary too. But it was Samson who really started the chase, taking out Lockie Ferguson in the third over with 22 runs. Abhishek pulled Adam Milne twice for six as he hit his fourth for 26. Wides beat the keeper and escaped to the rope, further aggravating New Zealand's problems.

With Samson and Abhishek scoring nine fours and sixes in six overs, another 100-run Powerplay awaited. Then Abhishek chose to take on Bracewell’s offspin, an unfavourable match-up, and sliced to backward point for a 12-ball 29. However, India was significantly ahead of the rate at the 93-run stand.

The twist came after that. India sent Tilak Varma in at No. 3 despite his recent success as a finisher, and with spin at both ends, New Zealand tied the left-hander down. After the Powerplay, India only scored two boundaries in the overs, and the squeeze failed. Samson dragged a wide one onto his stumps after attempting to force a cut with it. In the subsequent over, Tilak was run out to Bracewell for 6 off 11, and Ishan Kishan was run out by Santner.

To stop the slide, Axar was promoted, and he and Iyer formed the partnership that the chase relied on. He swiped Santner for four, then launched Bracewell for six. In the excellent 13th over, Ferguson attempted to break the stand again, but Santner's backpedaling from mid-off caused Axar to be dropped. It proved costly: Axar and Iyer took 20 off Matt Henry in the very next over.

Ferguson did eventually account for Axar for a 14-ball 24, but New Zealand’s fielding let them down again when Allen dropped Iyer. The captain and Dhir took 19 off Santner to tilt the game back India’s way, and even after Iyer fell, Dhir allowed no tremor. A four and a six in the final over, and the chase was done.