Auckland, Oct 30 (IANS) New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon traded his political responsibilities for cricket commentary during Blackcaps’ fourth T20I against India here at Eden Park
PM Luxon took to social media to share the glimpses from the commentary box and lavished praise on Glenn Phillips for his batting masterclass and the team’s overall batting effort.
“In the commentary box at Eden Park tonight for the @BLACKCAPS v India. Unreal innings from Glenn Phillips and a huge effort with the bat from the Blackcaps,” the New Zealand PM posted on X.
Phillips (107 from 49 balls), arguably the batter of the series so far, smashed his third T20I century, while Bracewell also hit 65 from 25 balls to help New Zealand pile up their highest-ever T20I total and also the highest by any team against India in the format.
This surpassed New Zealand’s previous highest score of 254/5, which they had smashed four years ago against Scotland, and is the most by any team against India, going past the previous 257/3 that England had hit in Southampton earlier this year.
Phillips has been the batter of the series, having hit an 82 not out and 70 in the first two matches before his 107 in the fourth game. He was dismissed by Nitish in the final over when he miscued a lofted drive to Abhishek at deep extra covers, but the Kiwis have put up a record total against India as Nathan Smith finished with a four on the final ball.
India have already sealed the five-match series comfortably after victories in the opening three games.
In the third T20I, India openers Abhishek Sharma (113) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (45) stitched together a powerplay display for the record books, piling on 118 runs in six overs as they chased down 199 runs off just 13.2 overs against New Zealand.
This was the second-quickest chase of a 190-run target or more (with 40 deliveries remaining), second only to Estonia’s chase of 193 against Cyprus in 2024, which they completed with 42 deliveries to spare.
–IANS
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