- BATSMENRBM4s6sSR1.3 a wild mow, and Seifert is outta here! Back of a length on off, and this swerves away with the angle. Seifert tries to smash it into next week and loses his shape completely. The extra movement means the ball skews off the outside half of the bat and Tilak does the rest at cover. NZ rocked early! 9/15.2 leg stump knocked back, and Prince is pumped! Zinged in very full on middle and leg. Allen pre-meditates the scoop and shuffles across. Ball is too full, though, and in the end, Allen, courtesy his movement, cuts himself off a little. Cannot reach the ball in time, and his leg stump is disturbed. NZ in more than a spot of bother! 41/32.6 another big miscue, and another catch for Tilak! Length on middle and off, and this leaves the batter late. Mitchell looks to whip it over mid wicket but the late movement does for him. Might have stuck in the pitch too. Was a knuckle-ball too. Feeble leading edge and Tilak, back-tracking from extra cover, makes no mistake! 18/217.6 the wide line works a charm, finally! Arshdeep hides it way outside off. Quite full too and that tempts Phillips into throwing the kitchen sink at it. A bit of a slice, however, and Phillips is hitting into the breeze as well. Dhir comes in off the fence and gobbles up the chance. Big, big wicket, even at this stage! 157/418.5 simple catch for Axar, and Jacobs' party is over! And funnily enough, it is another full toss that NZ have not been able to capitalize on. Cloths it a little and the bat face opens upon contact too. Axar takes it well inside the long off fence, and both set batters are now back in the shed! 165/5Extras9 (lb 1, nb 1, w 7)TOTAL180/5 (20 Overs, RR: 9)Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Tim Seifert, 1.3 ov), 2-18 (Daryl Mitchell, 2.6 ov), 3-41 (Finn Allen, 5.2 ov), 4-157 (Glenn Phillips, 17.6 ov), 5-165 (Bevon Jacobs, 18.5 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ 0s 4s 6s WD NB B Kumar 4 0 50 1 12.5 6 3 3 3 1 Arshdeep Singh 4 0 33 2 8.25 9 2 1 2 0 Prince Yadav 4 0 30 1 7.5 10 4 0 1 0 Naman Dhir 1 0 7 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 AR Patel 4 0 28 0 7 8 0 2 0 0 K Nitish Kumar Reddy 3 0 31 1 10.33 5 2 2 1 0
Player of the Match
Player of the Match
- BATSMENRBM4s6sSR4.4 slower ball, and that does the trick for Duffy! Surely Duffy has his front foot behind the line this time? Anyway, this was a back-of-the-hand change-up, bowled on a length on off. Samson does not pick it and is too early into the shot. The ball spoons up off the outside edge and Phillips does just enough at point. Samson's scratchy knock ends! 40/18.4 Abhishek goes for the slog, and Abhishek perishes! Floated up full on middle and leg. Abhishek gets his front foot out of the way and tries to slug it over cow corner. He is hitting into the breeze, though, and this is also the bigger side. Smith moves to his right from deep mid wicket, sees where the boundary cushion is and makes a tough catch look incredibly easy. All of India's top three now in the shed, and NZ are turning the screw! 56/36.2 not long enough, and it has led to his downfall! Hard length, just outside off. Sooryavanshi looks to flay it over the off side ring, but he cannot get under it enough. Does not keep it down either, and the ball arrows ti extra cover's left. Mitchell snaps down and snares it to send back the teenager. NZ on top now! 44/210.3 does him all ends up, and Santner takes out his opposite number! Floated up generously on a fullish length on off. Bowled at 79.6kph and Shreyas is completely deceived in the air. Too early on the shot and the ball breezes past Shreyas' flailing blade to crash into the stumps. India four down now! 69/410.5 catch it is the cry, and Allen and Mitchell work in tandem to send Axar back! Length on middle and off. Axar skips down and chips it towards long on. Allen moves to his right, takes it over his right shoulder and pops it to Mitchell as Allen steps outside the field of play. Mitchell is ready too, and he accepts the offering with glee. Superb presence of mind on the fence, and India lose two in the same over! 70/514.5 oh dear - the commentator's curse strikes again, and Dhir has to go! Given lots of air on a length outside off, bowled at a tick under 75kph. Dhir, looking at the flight, thinks he can go inside-out. Has to reach out, though, and that rids him of the requisite power. Tame chip to extra cover, and India now staring down the barrel! 112/6Extras10 (lb 2, nb 3, w 5)TOTAL181/6 (19.5 Overs, RR: 9.12)Fall of wickets: 1-40 (Sanju Samson, 4.4 ov), 2-44 (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 6.2 ov), 3-56 (Abhishek Sharma, 8.4 ov), 4-69 (Shreyas Iyer, 10.3 ov), 5-70 (Axar Patel, 10.5 ov), 6-112 (Naman Dhir, 14.5 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ 0s 4s 6s WD NB MJ Henry 2 1 11 0 5.5 9 1 1 0 0 JA Duffy 3.5 0 41 1 10.69 7 5 1 2 1 LH Ferguson 3 0 37 0 12.33 4 1 2 1 2 MG Bracewell 4 0 35 0 8.75 6 1 2 1 0 NG Smith 3 0 34 1 11.33 5 4 1 0 0 MJ Santner 4 0 21 4 5.25 11 0 1 0 0
Match Details
Toss
India , elected to field first
Player Of The Match
Series result
India led the 5-match series 2-0
Match number
Season
Hours of play (local time)
20.00 start, First Session 20.00-21.30, Interval 21.30-21.50, Second Session 21.50-23.20
Match days
24 October 2026 - night match (20-over match)
Umpires
TV Umpires
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
Match Notes
- Powerplay: Overs 0.1 - 6.0 (Mandatory - 43 runs, 3 wickets)
- New Zealand: 50 runs in 6.6 overs (42 balls), Extras 3
- Drinks: New Zealand - 66/3 in 10.0 overs (GD Phillips 15, BJ Jacobs 19)
- 4th Wicket: 50 runs in 43 balls (GD Phillips 24, BJ Jacobs 26, Ex 0)
- New Zealand: 100 runs in 13.4 overs (82 balls), Extras 4
- GD Phillips: 50 off 33 balls (3 x 4, 3 x 6)
- 4th Wicket: 100 runs in 69 balls (GD Phillips 51, BJ Jacobs 46, Ex 3)
- BJ Jacobs: 50 off 40 balls (5 x 4)
- New Zealand: 150 runs in 17.3 overs (106 balls), Extras 7
- Innings Break: New Zealand - 180/5 in 20.0 overs (MJ Santner 4, MG Bracewell 10)
- Powerplay: Overs 0.1 - 6.0 (Mandatory - 44 runs, 1 wicket)
- India: 50 runs in 7.1 overs (45 balls), Extras 6
- Drinks: India - 66/3 in 10.0 overs (SS Iyer 7, AR Patel 8)
- 10.5 overs: Relay Catch: Batter - AR Patel, Catcher - DJ Mitchell, Relay Fielder - FH Allen.
- India: 100 runs in 13.4 overs (85 balls), Extras 8
- India: 150 runs in 17.5 overs (110 balls), Extras 9
- 7th Wicket: 50 runs in 23 balls (NT Tilak Varma 28, K Nitish Kumar Reddy 23, Ex 1)
- NT Tilak Varma: 50 off 25 balls (6 x 4, 1 x 6)
Match Coverage
All Match NewsTilak, Reddy, Dhir seal thriller for India to go 2-0 up against sloppy New Zealand
India recovered from 70 for 5 to chase down 181 in Christchurch after New Zealand's poor fielding reprieved four India batters
Tilak Varma: I have done what everyone believed
He said conversations before this game with Gambhir and Kotak helped reinforce belief in his abilities
Stats - Chasemaster Tilak Varma turns up in India's 300th men's T20I
All the highlights from India's 200th outright win in men's T20Is
'The small stuff can change games quickly' - Santner rues dropped catches and misfields
The New Zealand captain acknowledged his team was 'in a very good position' but their errors in the field let India recover from 70 for 5 to chase down 181
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in as India choose to chase in Christchurch
Prince Yadav came in for Mayank Yadav, and New Zealand brought in Jacob Duffy for Adam Milne



