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Glenn Phillips became the fourth New Zealand batter to complete 2,000 runs in T20I cricket on Wednesday.
Phillips achieved this milestone during his side's first T20I against India at Nagpur. During a tough chase of 239 runs, Phillips gave the Kiwis a fighting chance with his 40-ball 78, consisting of four boundaries and six sixes and his runs came at a strike rate of 195.00. Now in 84 T20Is and 75 innings, he has made 2,007 runs at an average of 31.85 and a strike rate of over 142, with two centuries and 11 fifties to his name, with a best score of 108. NZ's top run-scorer in T20Is is former opener Martin Guptill with 3,531 runs in 122 matches and 118 innings at an average of 31.81 and a strike rate of over 135, with two centuries and 20 fifties to his name. He is followed by Kane Williamson, with 2,575 runs in 93 matches and 90 innings at an average of 33.44, a strike rate of 123.08, and 18 fifties, and then former wicketkeeper-batter Brendon McCullum, with 2,140 runs in 71 matches and 70 innings at an average of 35.66, with a strike rate of 136.21, including two centuries and 13 fifties. The burly, muscular hitter also completed his 4,000 international runs, continuing his strong momentum this year after a match-winning century in the ODI series decider at Indore recently. Now in 148 international appearances for NZ, Phillips has made 4,044 runs at an average of 34.56 and a strike rate of over 108, with four centuries and 21 fifties and a best score of 108 in 143 innings. Coming to the match, NZ elected to field first. Incredible knocks from Abhishek Sharma (84 in 35 balls, with five fours and eight sixes) and Rinku Singh (44* in 20 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) along with important cameos from skipper Suryakumar Yadav (32 in 22 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Hardik Pandya (25 in 16 balls, with three fours and a six) took India to 238/7 in 20 overs. Jacob Duffy (2/27) and Kyle Jamieson (2/54) were the top bowlers for NZ. During the chase, the Kiwis were down at 52/3, but a 79-run stand between Phillips and Mark Chapman (39 in 24 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) gave the Kiwis a glimmer of hope. However, Varun Chakravarthy (2/37) and Arshdeep Singh (1/31) delivered fine spells to restrict NZ to 190/7 in 20 overs, giving India a win and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. (ANI)
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