New Zealand beat India by 87 runs in the fourth T20I at Eden Park, making 259/7 before restricting the visitors to 172/9. Glenn Phillips provided the decisive innings, with Michael Bracewell helping turn a promising platform into a total India never seriously threatened. See the full scorecard.
Phillips and Bracewell turn a platform into a rout
India chose to bowl and found early openings through Mayank Yadav. He had Tim Seifert caught for 3 in the first over, then trapped Daryl Mitchell lbw after Mitchell had struck 24 from nine balls. New Zealand were 34/2, scoring quickly but losing wickets.
Finn Allen and Phillips gave the innings firmer footing with a 59-run third-wicket partnership. Allen contributed 31 from 17 balls before being caught off Axar Patel at the end of the eighth over. Bevon Jacobs then fell to Mayank for 7, leaving New Zealand 112/4 in the 11th over: a useful position, but one still requiring substantial work.
Phillips and Michael Bracewell supplied it. Their fifth-wicket stand added 115, keeping the scoring moving well beyond the early bursts. Bracewell made 65 from 25 balls, hitting four fours and six sixes before Prince Yadav dismissed him lbw at 227/5 in the 18th over.
Phillips remained until the final over, finishing with 107 from 49 balls, including six fours and 10 sixes. Abhishek Sharma caught him off Nitish Kumar Reddy, but by then the innings had moved far beyond India's early successes. Mayank finished with 3/48; Reddy conceded 64 from his four overs, while Arshdeep Singh's 1/38 was India's least expensive full allocation.
Duffy's double strikes shut down India's chase
Jacob Duffy immediately undermined India's reply. Sanju Samson was caught by Seifert from the second ball, and Ishan Kishan returned a catch to Duffy three deliveries later without scoring. India were 4/2 before the opening over was complete.
Abhishek and Shreyas Iyer rebuilt with a 46-run partnership, offering a brief counterweight to that start. Abhishek made 27 from 15 balls before Matthew Fisher dismissed him, and Adam Milne bowled Iyer for 22 soon afterwards, leaving India 56/4.
Reddy's 21 from 10 balls brought another burst, but Mitchell Santner removed him and Axar in the ninth over. Those wickets prevented India's middle order from converting individual hitting into a sustained recovery; Santner finished with 2/24.
Naman Dhir struck 28 from 13 balls before Duffy returned to dismiss him and Arshdeep on consecutive deliveries. At 121/8, the chase had become a matter of batting out the overs rather than challenging New Zealand. Duffy finished with 4/23.
Tilak Varma's 35 from 35 balls was India's highest score. He fell to Fisher late in the innings, while Prince Yadav remained unbeaten on 18. With one match remaining in the India tour of New Zealand 2026, India led 3–1 and had already won the series.