India all-rounder Naman Dhir shattered a 17-year-old record with his match-winning cameo of 42 not out off 15 balls in the first T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch. Dhir’s blitz proved to be the turning point after India nearly squandered the flying start provided by the openers during their record-breaking chase of 226. 7 or lower in a successful T20I run chase, surpassing the previous record held by former all-rounder Irfan Pathan .
His unbeaten knock is now the highest score by an Indian batter batting at No.
Pathan had scored an unbeaten 33 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2009 while helping India complete what was then their highest successful T20I chase. Across five T20I innings, Dhir has scored 80 runs at an average of 40.00 and a strike rate of 285.71, with best score of 42*. In overs 16 to 20 in T20s, the all-rounder has scored 341 runs in 167 balls, at a strike rate of 204.19, with 34 fours and 19 sixes. He has been dismissed 10 times in this phase.
Speaking after the match, India captain Shreyas Iyer said on Naman, “He gives us a lot of options, especially for lefty batsmen, or even the right-handers batting, especially on this ground, coming in and bowling those two-three crucial overs actually can change the momentum. And I personally feel that the calm and composed nature that he showed today, it was simply magnificent to see him bat.
During the chase, Sanju (67 in 33 balls, with eight fours and four sixes) and Abhishek (29 in 12 balls, with two fours and three sixes) put on a 93-run stand for the first wicket. However, from 93/1, Team India collapsed to 122/4. Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel (24 in 14 balls, with three fours and a six) stitched a 45-run stand to bring back hope for India. Iyer (42 in 28 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Naman (42* in 15 balls, with five fours and two sixes) finished off the game with two balls in hand.
