New Zealand beat India by 87 runs in the fourth T20 International on October 30, handing the defending champions their first defeat of the five-match series. New Zealand posted 259 for 7 in their 20 overs, and India were bowled out for 172 for 9 in reply.

The match turned on one batter. Glenn Phillips smashed an unbeaten 107 off just 49 balls, with 6 fours and 10 sixes. He was the centrepiece of a New Zealand innings that never really stalled after the early wickets fell.

New Zealand started slowly. Tim Seifert was out for 3 and Daryl Mitchell fell for 24, but opener Finn Allen kept the scoring moving with 31 runs. Once Phillips came to the crease, the bowling was dismantled.

Phillips scored 107 off 49 balls and stayed unbeaten, while the rest of the innings was built around his assault.

Michael Bracewell gave him excellent support. He smashed 65 off 25 balls, hitting 4 fours and 6 sixes. Together, the two batters added the kind of runs that left India staring at a target of 260 before they had even faced a ball.

India won the toss and chose to bowl first, a decision that looked far less comfortable by the time New Zealand reached the end of their innings. The Indian bowlers had no answer to the power hitting, and the total climbed quickly in the closing overs.

Disaster in the first over

India’s chase collapsed almost before it began. Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan were both dismissed for ducks in the very first over, leaving the top of the order exposed and the pressure immediate.

Abhishek Sharma scored 27 and Shreyas Iyer made 6, but both fell soon after. Nitish Kumar Reddy managed 5 and Axar Patel was out for 3. By the time the middle order was under strain, India were chasing a target that required a rate far beyond anything they could sustain.

Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir fight, but too late

Tilak Varma kept India’s hopes alive for a while. He batted for 35 off 35 balls, trying to rebuild an innings that had lost its foundation in the opening over. Naman Dhir added a burst of aggression, scoring 28 off just 13 deliveries.

Their efforts came too late. Once both were dismissed, India’s chances of victory were effectively gone. The side finished on 172 for 9, falling 87 runs short of a target that had been built on the back of one extraordinary innings.

The bowling figures tell the story

Jacob Duffy was the standout bowler for New Zealand, taking 4 wickets to dismantle India’s batting order. Mitchell Santner added 2 wickets, giving the visitors control of the middle overs and removing the momentum India needed to chase down 260.

For India, the defeat is a jolt rather than a collapse of the series. Their 3-0 lead was already secure before this match, and the loss has now trimmed it to 3-1 ahead of the final game.

What comes next

The fifth and final T20 on Sunday now carries more weight than it did a few hours earlier. India are aiming to close the series 4-1 and erase the memory of a night when their chase never found rhythm.

New Zealand, meanwhile, have their first win of the series and a clear demonstration of what Phillips can do when he gets going. Every batter in their top order contributed, but it was Phillips who turned a competitive total into a match-winning one.

The scale of the defeat matters. An 87-run margin is not a narrow result that can be explained away by a single over. It exposed India’s top order in the first few overs and showed how quickly a score of 260 can become impossible to chase once the early wickets go.

Fans will be watching the Sunday finale closely. India still hold the series lead, but the momentum has shifted, and the margin for error in the last match has suddenly become very thin.