NZ vs IND 2nd T20I: India eye 2-0 lead at Hagley Oval after record chase
<cite index="29-5">India and New Zealand meet again on Saturday, October 24, at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The first ball is due at 12:30 PM IST.</cite> <cite index="29-6">India lead 1-0 after chasing 226.</cite> A second win would put them in a strong position in a long series, so the selection question matters.
The opener showed how much the surface and conditions favoured batters. <cite index="22-3">Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to field, and New Zealand made 225 for 4.</cite> <cite index="22-4">Finn Allen began the onslaught with 45 off 24 balls.</cite> <cite index="21-6">Glenn Phillips then hit 82 off 40 to take the hosts past 220.</cite> The decision to bowl first looked doubtful at that stage.
India's reply changed that. <cite index="24-8">Sanju Samson hit 67 off 33 balls, with eight fours and four sixes.</cite> That gave the chase a fast start. <cite index="22-5">Iyer made 42 off 28, and Axar Patel added 24 off 14. Together they took 20 runs off Matt Henry's 14th over to bring India back into the game.</cite>
<cite index="22-6,22-7">Naman Dhir then finished it. India needed three from the last four balls, and he hit Henry over deep fine leg for six.</cite> <cite index="24-9">Dhir ended unbeaten on 42 off 15 balls.</cite> <cite index="22-2">India reached 230 for 6 with two balls to spare.</cite>
The win also set a milestone. <cite index="21-1">India's previous best successful T20I chase was 209, against Australia in Visakhapatnam in 2023. They matched that figure against New Zealand in Raipur earlier in 2026.</cite> Chasing 226 in Christchurch took them well past it.
The main talking point for the second game is the balance of the XI. <cite index="29-5">The most likely India side is the same one that won the first game.</cite> That means Abhishek Sharma, Samson, Ishan Kishan, Iyer, Tilak Varma, Dhir, Axar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Yadav and Arshdeep Singh. <cite index="29-15">Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Shivam Dube are the bench options.</cite>
One school of thought says India should add a frontline wrist-spinner and rest a bowling all-rounder. Axar was useful with the bat in the chase. But Varun and Kuldeep offer more wicket-taking threat if New Zealand's batters get going again on a true surface. Against that, India's lower-order batting depth was clearly valuable on Thursday, and changing a winning combination carries its own risk. The management will have to weigh those two things.
The pitch and weather are worth watching too. <cite index="29-17">Hagley surfaces often help seam and swing early and offer even bounce. Dew can make life easier for the chasing side late on.</cite> <cite index="24-10">After the first game, Iyer said dew arrived as the match went on. The pitch also played flatter and the ball came onto the bat well.</cite> That makes the toss tricky. A side that bowls first gets help from dew later, but Thursday showed a big total can still be set before it matters.
New Zealand have problems of their own. They scored heavily and still lost, so their bowlers will want to tighten up in the powerplay and the last two overs. <cite index="29-16">They may bring in Matt Henry or Kyle Jamieson in the pace attack, with Santner leading and Seifert keeping wicket.</cite> Allen and Phillips have shown they can take any attack apart, so India's opening bowlers will be tested early.
For India, the batting looks settled. Samson has taken the new ball well and the middle order has shown it can hold its nerve. The tour is a chance to test that depth away from home in varied conditions. <cite index="22-8">The series moves to Wellington on October 27, Auckland on October 30 and Hamilton on November 1.</cite> Taking a 2-0 lead in Christchurch would give India room to rotate players later in the series. It would also leave New Zealand needing to win the remaining games.