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Phillips and Jacobs rescue New Zealand to 180 as India chase in Christchurch
From 41 for three, the pair added 116 to set India 181 in the second T20I at Hagley Oval. Naman Dhir fought back for India before Mitchell Santner removed him for 31.
Key points
- Glenn Phillips made 70 off 43 balls and Bevon Jacobs 58 as New Zealand recovered to 180 for five.
- Arshdeep Singh was India's best bowler with two for 33.
- In the chase, Naman Dhir made 31 before Santner, who also had Iyer and Axar, removed him.
Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs dragged New Zealand out of trouble at Hagley Oval on Saturday, turning 41 for three into 180 for five and setting India 181 to win the second T20I and go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
By mid-afternoon in India the chase was in the balance. Sanju Samson fell early, and New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner struck twice to remove his opposite number Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel. Naman Dhir, the hero of Thursday’s win, then dragged India back into the contest before Santner had him too, for 31. The match, which began at 12:30 pm IST, was still going at the time of writing.
How New Zealand recovered
Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl, with dew expected later in the evening, and his seamers made the decision look sound. Arshdeep Singh had Tim Seifert for 7 in the second over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped Daryl Mitchell, and Prince Yadav, brought in for Mayank Yadav, removed Finn Allen for 16. New Zealand were 41 for three after 5.2 overs.
Phillips, who made an unbeaten 82 in Thursday’s opener, simply carried on. He reached his 14th T20I fifty and his second in a row against India, and was out for 70 off 43 balls in the 18th over, caught off Arshdeep. Jacobs gave him steady company and then accelerated, making 58 off 46 before Nitish Kumar Reddy got him in the 19th. Their stand of 116 for the fourth wicket came off 76 balls.
Michael Bracewell added 10 off two balls at the end. Arshdeep finished with two for 33, the best of India’s figures. Prince took one for 30, Nitish one for 31 and Bhuvneshwar one for 50, while Axar went wicketless for 28 in his four overs.
Sooryavanshi at No. 3
India made two changes. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15, came in for Ishan Kishan, who has a low-grade adductor strain from the first match, and was sent in at No. 3 rather than opening. Iyer kept Samson and Abhishek Sharma together at the top after their 93-run start on Thursday, when India chased 226, their highest successful T20I chase.
New Zealand brought in Jacob Duffy for Adam Milne, a change Santner put down to rotation.
India’s XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.
What comes next
The third match is in Wellington on Tuesday, 27 October, followed by games in Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November.
Updated 24 October 2026, 3:55 pm IST: This story was updated after it was first published.