New Zealand’s Matt Henry, right, celebrates the wicket of India’s Shivam Dube during the fourth T20I cricket match between India and New Zealand, at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on January 28, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
India’s batting juggernaut was finally stopped as New Zealand mastered bowling with the dew to beat the host by 50 runs to register its first win of the series at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Wednesday (January 28, 2026). Shivam Dube’s onslaught lit up a packed house on a cool evening in the City of Destiny but ultimately proved in vain.
A blistering opening assault from Tim Seifert and a late surge from Daryl Mitchell bookended a decisive middle-overs squeeze by India, as the Kiwis piled on 215/7 after being asked to bat.
Seifert was handed an early reprieve when a leading edge fell safely beyond a backpedalling Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian pace battery paid a hefty price for it. A stand-and-deliver blow straight down the ground took the Kiwis past the 50-run mark. India found a breather when a wandering dog halted the onslaught and then landed its first blow.
Devon Conway’s decision to move up a gear didn’t work out as he holed out to Rinku Singh at deep cover, signalling the end of a century stand. Immediately after, Bumrah caught Rachin Ravindra off his own bowling.
Seifert attempted to reignite the charge but misjudged Arshdeep Singh’s change of pace and perished after holing out to long-o elder Rinku. During India’s middle-overs dominance, Kuldeep Yadav lured Glenn Phillips for a hit down long-on, where Rinku timed his leap to perfection.
New Zealand’s repeated searches for Rinku almost became a running theme. The elder’s fourth catch of the night ended Zakary Foulkes’ stay. Mitchell, though, was unfazed, smashing 27 runs off nine balls in the final two overs to propel the Black Caps to their second-highest T20I total against India.
Snapping up Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck and Suryakumar Yadav for a single-digit score was a shot in the arm for the Kiwis.
Sanju Samson and Rinku consolidated aggressively as India got out of the PowerPlay with 50 chipped off the target. Mitchell Santner then struck twice, beating Samson on the outside edge to rattle the middle stump, and drawing Hardik Pandya for a failed slice to Foulkes at backward point.
Rinku also fell, leaving India with a climbing asking rate. But Dube adamantly infused hope, pummelling Ish Sodhi for 28 runs in an over, and bringing up his half-century in just 15 balls. But he couldn’t pull off a miracle, as the ball deflected off Matt Henry’s hand from Harshit Rana’s shot and caught him stranded well outside the crease at the non-striker’s end.
In hindsight, the decision to play one batter short – Arshdeep replacing the injured Ishan Kishan left India short on repower to stage a late surge.
Published – January 28, 2026 07:18 pm IST
