Glenn Phillips smashed an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls as New Zealand posted 225 for 4 against India in the first T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday, leaving India a target of 226 to win the series opener, ESPNcricinfo and IANS reported.
The total is New Zealand's joint-highest in T20 internationals against India. India captain Shreyas Iyer had won the toss and elected to bowl first, but the home batters scored freely in every phase — 65 runs in the powerplay, 93 in the middle overs and 67 in the last five overs.
Finn Allen gave New Zealand a fast start with 45 off 24 balls and Tim Seifert made 24 off 17. Daryl Mitchell contributed 28, while Bevon Jacobs hit 31 off 16 balls in a 73-run stand with Phillips that carried New Zealand past 200.
None of India's bowlers conceded fewer than 10 runs an over. Axar Patel took 1 for 51, Arshdeep Singh 1 for 45 and Mayank Yadav 1 for 40, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar — playing his first international since 2022 — went wicketless for 49 and Nitish Kumar Reddy conceded 40.
Phillips finished the innings with a reverse sweep for four off Bhuvneshwar and reached his fifty off 27 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes in all. India's chase was still to come at the time of publication.