Christchurch: Sanju Samson anchored the chase with a fine 67 as India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the first T20I in Christchurch this afternoon, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Chasing 225, India responded with 230/6 with two balls remaining.
Samson smashed eight fours and four sixes to make his runs off 33 balls at the top, while Shreyas Iyer (42), Axar Patel (24) and Naman Dhir (42 not out) played important knocks towards the end. Earlier, Glenn Phillips top-scored with an unbeaten 82 and Finn Allen made 45 as New Zealand posted 225/4.
Sanju Samson has been given the accolade for his swashbuckling 67 off just 33 balls. Samson says it feels really good, adding that they are just in the moment of having won the match and that whatever contribution you make, it feels good when the team wins. He calls it a nice overall contribution from everyone.
On his conversations with Abhishek while batting, Samson shares that they do have conversations, but it does not make much sense, as they just watch the ball and hit it hard. About the pitch and the conditions, he says there was a lot of swing, too much in the second half actually.
He notes that off the surface, the ball was coming on nicely, so they were trying to hold their shape. Samson adds that he summed up his game plan while keeping, but when he came out to bat, it was totally different.
