Deepanjan Mitra Thu, October 22, 2026 at 8:25 AM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement IND vs NZ 1st T20I 2026 live scorecard, toss winner, winning probability, result and highlights from Christchurch originally appeared on Cricket News . Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Captains: Mitchell Santner ( New Zealand ), Shreyas Iyer ( India )
Toss result: India won the toss and chose to field first.
Live Telecast: Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV (India), Sky Sport (New Zealand)
Umpires and match officials: Chris Brown and Shaun Haig (on-field umpires), Kim Cotton (TV umpire), Cory Black (reserve umpire), and Ranjan Madugalle (match referee)
FOLLOW LIVE: Ball-by-ball updates of the match
Follow along with the latest live scorecard here as the match unfolds, or click here for key text commentary updates from the action.
Welcome to CricketNews.com's live coverage of the first T20I between New Zealand and India at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
15 overs: New Zealand 158/3 (Phillips 41, Jacobs 16)
New Zealand surged to 158/3 at the 15-over mark at Hagley Oval, taking 50 runs from the last 5 overs to set up a massive finish. Glenn Phillips anchored the push, accelerating to 41 off 22 balls alongside explosive finisher Bevon Jacobs (16* off 9 balls).
Arshdeep Singh provided India a brief reprieve in the 13th over by getting Daryl Mitchell (28) caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at short third. However, Jacobs immediately signalled his intent by launching his very first delivery for a 96-meter six. With Axar Patel finishing an expensive spell of 1/51, New Zealand enter the death overs poised to push well past 200.
10 overs: New Zealand 92/2 (Phillips 6, Mitchell 14)
India pulled the handbrake on New Zealand's scoring frenzy, restricting the hosts to 92/2 at the halfway point at Hagley Oval. Following a boundary-laden Powerplay, Axar Patel broke the dynamic 32-run stand by dismissing Finn Allen for a quickfire 45 (24b), catching him out at long-off after a mis-timed lofted drive.
Nitish Kumar Reddy entered the attack to deliver a disciplined, boundary-free over, conceding just five runs and keeping the squeeze on. Glenn Phillips (12*) and Daryl Mitchell (15*) focused on strike rotation against Axar and Nitish, steadily building the foundation for a late-overs charge while bringing the required rebuilding effort into focus.
6 overs: New Zealand 65/1 (Allen 33, Mitchell 7)
New Zealand ended the Powerplay on a high, racing to 65/1 after 6 overs against India. Finn Allen spearheaded the charge, launching Axar Patel for a towering six over long-off to bring up his 33 off 17 balls.
Daryl Mitchell got in on the act immediately after coming to the crease, stepping down the track to loft Axar for a massive six of his own over long-on. Despite losing Tim Seifert for a quickfire 24, New Zealand's aggressive approach has put them firmly in the driver's seat at the end of the fielding restrictions.
India won the toss and chose to field first.
These two sides have not met since the T20 World Cup final in March, when India won by 96 runs, and New Zealand fancy their chances of redressing that in conditions they know far better. Hagley Oval offers seam movement and bounce, and forecasts predict the evening temperature will fall towards 14°C by the closing overs.
India arrive jetlagged, with no real acclimatisation time and without Jasprit Bumrah or Hardik Pandya. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back in the squad for the first time since November 2022, and Varun Chakaravarthy returns from the injury that sidelined him at the Asian Games.
Their last assignment, a home series against the West Indies, ended 2-2 after rain washed out the Bengaluru decider. New Zealand have their own problems to deal with. Rachin Ravindra is out with a dislocated shoulder, while Mark Chapman and Zak Foulkes were ruled out earlier this month.
Michael Bracewell and Adam Milne are both back from injury, and Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are expected to reunite at the top of the order. History favours the visitors despite the conditions.
India have won each of their last two bilateral T20I series in New Zealand and lead the head-to-head 19-11 from 31 matches, with one no result. They have never played a men's T20I at this ground, though the hosts have won six, lost six and had one no result from their 13 matches here.
The latest win probability for this match is below, or you can check out the latest match momentum with our Manhattan graphic here
New Zealand playing XI: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Devon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
India playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav
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