India vs New Zealand 4th T20 Highlights: NZ Post Mammoth 259/7 to Claim First Win in Auckland!

I have watched a lot of T20 cricket. I have never seen an over quite like the 16th. Nitish Kumar Reddy ran in, Glenn Phillips swung, and the ball kept disappearing into the Auckland night. Four sixes. Thirty-two runs.

The moment India's chase of 260 stopped being difficult and started being impossible. The India vs New Zealand 4th T20 Highlights will show Phillips' 107 and Jacob Duffy's 4/23. They should also show that over. Because that is where the game actually ended, long before India finished on 172/9.

The First Over Was the Warning

Sanju Samson started with a boundary. A beautiful lofted drive over extra cover. For one ball, it looked like India might make a game of it.

Then Jacob Duffy pulled his length back. Samson top-edged a pull. Tim Seifert ran forward and dived to take the catch. Four runs. One wicket.

Three balls later, Ishan Kishan was caught and bowled for a duck. A leading edge, a simple return catch. Duffy had two wickets in the first over. India were 4 for 2.

I have seen India recover from bad starts. Abhishek Sharma and Shreyas Iyer tried. They put on a quick 50. But the required rate was already climbing past 14. And Duffy was not finished.

Phillips and Bracewell: The Partnership That Broke the Record

New Zealand were 112 for 4 in the 11th over. Finn Allen was gone. Daryl Mitchell was gone. Bevon Jacobs was gone. For a moment, India had a foothold.

Read Also: How to Watch India vs Pakistan Hockey Semi Final Live Stream?

Phillips and Michael Bracewell took that foothold and stomped on it.

Bracewell made 65 off 25 balls. Six sixes. He was dropped by Naman Dhir in the 14th over. That drop cost India more than they could afford. Phillips made 107 off 49 balls. Ten sixes. His third T20I century.

Their partnership added 115 runs in just 40 balls. New Zealand went from a competitive total to a record one. 259 for 7 was their highest T20I score ever. It was also the highest total any team has scored against India in the format, beating England's 257 earlier this year.

The Bowling Numbers That Tell the Story

Mayank Yadav was the only Indian bowler who looked like he belonged. He took 3 for 48. He removed Seifert, Mitchell, and Jacobs. He bowled with pace and control.

Everyone else leaked runs. Nitish Kumar Reddy conceded 64 in four overs. Axar Patel went for 43 in three. Prince Yadav gave up 49 in four. Arshdeep Singh was the most economical, but even he went at nearly ten an over.

That is not a bowling attack that can defend 260. It is barely a bowling attack that can contain 200 on a flat pitch with a short boundary.

The Chase That Never Happened

India's top order fell apart. Samson and Kishan gone in the first over. Abhishek Sharma made 27 off 15 but holed out to Santner. Shreyas Iyer made 22 off 11 and was bowled by Adam Milne.

Tilak Varma top-scored with 35 off 35 balls. In a chase of 260, your highest scorer striking at 100 is a confession. It means nobody else stayed long enough to do damage.

Naman Dhir's 28 off 13 was the only innings that matched the required tempo. He fell to Duffy, and the tail folded.

Duffy finished with 4 for 23. His best figures in T20Is. He broke Trent Boult's record for the best bowling figures by a New Zealand bowler against India. On a night when Phillips took the headlines, Duffy set the tone.

The Final Thoughts

India still lead the series 3-1. They have already won it. The fifth match in Hamilton on Sunday will not change the trophy's destination.

But it will change the conversation. India's three wins came chasing. They looked unstoppable when they had a target in front of them. The one time they had to bowl first and defend, they fell apart. That is a pattern that matters before a World Cup.

New Zealand, meanwhile, proved something to themselves. They had pushed India close in every game without winning. This time they finished the job. Santner called it the "complete performance" his side had been searching for.

Phillips was the star. Bracewell was the finisher. Duffy was the executioner. And that 32-run over from Nitish Kumar Reddy was the moment Eden Park realized the series was not going to end in a whitewash.