India were handed their first defeat in the ongoing T20I series by New Zealand, who outclassed the Men in Blue by 50 runs in Vizag. The Kiwi batters put up a brilliant show with Darly Mitchell and Tim Seifert scoring well. Their bowlers complemented each other well to bowl India out for 165. Shivam Dube put up a brilliant show with his 65, however, his efforts went in vain.
Kuldeep departed for one and with that, New Zealand won the match by 50 runs. Duffy picked up the final wicket of the night. India lead the series 3-1 now.
Jasprit Bumrah departed after scoring 4 runs off two balls. Mitchell Santner picked up his third wicket of the night as Ish Sodhi completed a simple catch. India are reduced to 162/9 after 17.5 overs.
And Harshit is gone too as he top-edged this to short third man. India now seven down. Make it eight please as Arshdeep Singh is also caught out.
How unfortunate for Shivam Dube. He has been run out at the non-striker's end. Rana slaps a short ball straight as it hits the bowler Matt Henry's hand and ricochets to the stumps, and Dube is out of the crease.
Dube has brought up a blistering 15-ball fifty. He is hitting sixes for fun and suddenly the crowd has found its voice. Two sixes off Duffy in three balls. He was given LWB in between but there was an inside edge on that. IND 129/5 after 13.
The spin-basher Shivam Dube is not going to go down without a fight here. He slams two fours and three sixes off Ish Sodhi. Three gigantic sixes off Dube's bat as he is on 40 off 12 balls. 29 from the over as the crowd goes crazy at the Vizag. India need 100 from 48 and despite the hitting, this looks way too far.
Another one bites the dust. And this time it's Rinku Singh, who has been given out LBW. He reviews, but this looks straight. No bat is involved, and there are three reds.
And Hardik departs too. This is not going India's way. Hardik throws the kitchen sink at this Santner delivery, which was turning away. He is early in the shot and is caught at covers.
Is this the knock Samson was looking for? It might be. He hits a four off Duffy and then a brilliant pick-up six. Ohh now, Samson has to go back as Santner cleans him up. This pitched on good length and turned away as Samson is beaten all ends up. IND 55/3 after 6.4.
Rinku has been promoted to No.4 today with no Ishan Kishan. And he is finding is feet as he smashes Foulkes for a couple of sixes. The first one straight down the ground, and then a slapped maximum behind point.
Another brilliant catch by New Zealand. Jacob Duffy takes a good low catch off his own bowling as he dismisses India captain Suryakumar Yadav.
What a catch by Devon Conway at deep third. Abhishek Sharma has been dismissed for a golden duck. Matt Henry strikes on the first ball.
New Zealand have ended well here in the fourth T20I. Mitchell with a six and a four in the last over of Harshit Rana as Kiwis put up 215/7 in their 20 overs. This is a strong target.
Arshdeep Singh strikes again an it is Rinku Singh, who takes yet another catch. His fourth of the match. This was fuller as Foulkes went down the ground, mistimes and Rinku takes a good catch back-tracking a bit at long-on.
New Zealand are now throwing wickets away. Santner has been run out as New Zealand are six down. Santner gets this to short third for a run as Hardik hits a direct hit at the bowler's end.
And Bishnoi has now got his first. He was taken to the cleaners in his first three overs, but returns and picks Mark Chapman. Chapman pulled this towards fine leg, but does not get enough on this as Harshit takes the catch. NZ are half down as Santner comes in.
Another one gone as New Zealand lose their fourth. Kuldeep strikes as he removes Phillips with his stock delivery. Phillips punched this aerially as Rinku moves to his left from long-on to take an impressive catch. NZ 137/4 after 13.4.
And here is the wicket, the big one. Change of bowling works for India, change of pace works for Arshdeep. Back of a length slower one as Seifert looked to go on the on-side. Hits this straight to the long-off fielder. NZ 126/3 after 12.2.
The New Zealand batters are playing the Indian spinners well here. They have hit Bishnoi and Kuldeep for 66 runs in 6 overs. While the pacers have also been hit, the spinners are crucial in middle overs, where they are getting hit.
Bumrah has his first as he removes Rachin Ravindra for just two. A slower back-of-a-length ball that outfoxes the left-hander, who chips it back to the bowler. Back-to-back wickets for India as NZ 103.2 after 9.1 overs.
New Zealand are going absolutely all guns blazing and giving India a taste of their own medicine. NZ bring up the 100 in just 8.1 overs. But Conway has departed now. He mistimes this to deep extra-cover, where Rinku holds onto an easy one. NZ 100/1 after 8.2.
And Seifert gets to his fifty. What a fine knock from the opener. A fifty off just 25 balls, the joint-fastest by a New Zealand player against India in T20Is. New Zealand are going well here.
And now Conway has joined the party. He hits Bishnoi for two fours and a six. The first one over mid-wicket, then a slap through to point and then a slog-sweep six over mid-wicket. NZ 71/0 after 6.
New Zealand are on a move here in Vizag. Seifert hit a six and a four off Harshit on the first two balls of the fourth over, and then Conway gently got a four towards third man. New Zealand 45/0 after 4.
Seifert has begun well in the first innings here. He tonks Harshit Rana for a maximum over long-on before slapping one through extra cover for a four. NZ 26/0 after 2.
A hat-trick of fours for Tim Seifert in the first over of Arshdeep Singh. Two off the leading edge over third man and one towards long-off. NZ 14/0 after 1.
Tim Seifert and Devon Conway open for New Zealand in Visakhapatnam. Arshdeep Singh has been handed the new ball by Suryakumar Yadav. Can the young India pacer once again deliver in the first over? All eyes on him at the momemt.
Well, Axar Patel is yet to recover from his injury. The all-rounder hurt his left hand in the first T20I and has been out of action since. He is recovering well but is yet to gain complete fitness.
Varun Chakravarthy will once again spend his time warming the bench. The team management has once again backed Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi as two specialist spinners. India are likely keeping him fit for the T20 World Cup 2026.
Visakhapatnam offers ideal batting conditions for the fourth T20I, with short boundaries, a rock-hard pitch, and a lush outfield. Historically high-scoring, the venue has an average first-innings score of 209. Dew is expected later, making chasing the preferred option after winning the toss.
"It looks like a good wicket again. The dew has already kind of set in, so it might be a bit harder later on. The runs and scores are definitely evolving. We know the quality of this Indian side, and we’ve seen that in the first three games. We need to be better with the ball. First up, though, it looks like a good wicket, so we’ll try to set a strong total tonight. Most of the guys are already here playing this series. Lockie is still out, and Finn (Allen) is on his way, so we’ve got a couple of additions still to come. But the roles are pretty clear, and we’ll probably get similar wickets in the World Cup. One change - Foulkes comes in for Jamieson. Lockie and Finn are still a little way off, but it’s good to have them coming back," Santner said at the toss.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert(w), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
"We’re going to bowl first. It looks like a good wicket, and we’ll get a chance to practise here later. There was a lot of dew last night and today it’s a little humid as well, so we feel that in the second innings the ball will come onto the bat nicely. I think the important thing is to repeat the good habits we’ve built over the past year, not just in this series. We want to keep doing the good things we’ve been doing, learn from the last game, and go out there, enjoy ourselves, play the format the way it’s meant to be played, and entertain the people who’ve come here. It’s a beautiful ground and a lovely crowd here. Hopefully the boys are charged up and we have a good, entertaining night. Arshdeep comes in for Ishan Kishan, who picked up a niggle in the last game. Axar Patel still needs a bit more time, so hopefully we’ll see him in the next game. The batters will need to take a bit more responsibility, but at the same time not shy away from playing with fearless intent. We’ve got five good bowling options today, so we’ll see how it goes," SKY said at the toss.
No Ishan Kishan for India in this game. He is out due to a niggle, India captain Surya confirmed at the toss. India have one change with Arshdeep coming in for Ishan Kishan.
Suryakumar Yadav has won the toss and India would be bowling first.
It seems that time is running out for Samson yet again. He has scored 10, 6, and 0 in the three matches. Ishan Kishan has been doing the work very well which has put pressure on Samson. With Tilak Varma out of the rest two T20Is, Samson should get both the games but time is now running out for him.
This game gives India a chance to rest some of their players and to test some others. Will the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya receive a rest today? We will find that out at the toss.
Hello and welcome to the IND vs NZ 4th T20I at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. India have bagged the series as they have an unassailable lead of 3-0 with two matches to go. The Men in Blue have played like T20 World Champions as they have put up brilliant performances in all three matches. They would look for more in the next two games. Stay tuned for all the updates on this one.
