Phillips Blitz, Duffy's Four-For: NZ Win Fourth T20 by 87 Runs

A thunderous century from Glenn Phillips and a disciplined bowling effort by Jacob Duffy helped New Zealand defeat India by 87 runs in the fourth T20 match at Eden Park, Auckland.

Batting first, New Zealand scored 259 for 7 in 20 overs. The start was rocky, as Tim Seifert was dismissed for 3 by Mayank Yadav. Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell then put on 29 runs in 11 balls for the second wicket. Mitchell scored 24 off 9 balls before getting out, while Allen made 31 off 17 deliveries, hitting two fours and two sixes.

Phillips then took apart the Indian attack, scoring 107 off 49 balls. His innings included six fours and ten sixes. Bracewell kept the scoring rate high with an impressive 65 off 25 balls.

In reply, India were chasing 260 but finished on 172 for 9. Sanju Samson fell for 4, and Ishan Kishan did not score. Abhishek Sharma hit 27 off 15 balls before falling to Matt Fisher. Shreyas Iyer, leading the side, made 22 off 11 balls with four fours, but could not steady the innings.

Axar Patel managed 7 off 9 balls, while Nitish Kumar Reddy contributed 21 off 10 balls. Naman Dhir scored 28 off 13 balls at a strike rate of 215, but was caught by Nathan Smith off Duffy's bowling. Arshdeep Singh was dismissed without scoring.

Tilak Varma scored 35 off 35 balls, and Prince Yadav made 18 off 17. Mayank Yadav remained not out on 3.

Duffy returned impressive figures of 4 for 23 in four overs. Mitchell Santner claimed 2 wickets for 24 runs, and Matt Fisher also took 2 wickets.

The victory is New Zealand's first in the five-match T20 series, though India had already taken a 3-1 lead.