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New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner made history during the second T20I against India at Christchurch, as he became the first-ever bowler to take multiple four-wicket hauls against India in T20Is.
In the second T20I, Santner came to the attack, absolutely ruining a decent start that India had made during their 181-run chase, causing them to go from 40/0 to 112/6 in 14.5 overs. He ended with figures of 4/21 in four overs. His first four-fer against India came way back in T20 World Cup 2016 at Nagpur, taking 4/11 to help Kiwis defend 127 at Nagpur and skittle India out for just 79 runs. Only three other spinners have taken a four-wicket haul against India in T20Is: With them being: Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga (4/9 at Colombo, 2021), NZ legend Daniel Vettori (4/20 at Johannesburg, 2007 T20 World Cup) and Scotland's Gerhard Erasmus (4/20 at Delhi, 2026 T20 World Cup). Santner has entered the top 10 T20I wicket-takers list, tying with India's left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh with 148 wickets in 140 matches at an average of 23.29 and an economy rate of 7.18, with best figures of 4/11. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan (197 wickets in 118 matches) is the leading T20I wicket-taker. Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to bowl first. They had New Zealand down 41/3 within the powerplay. Glenn Phillips (70 in 46 balls, with four boundaries and sixes each) and Bevon Jacobs (58 in 46 balls, with five fours and a six) led New Zealand's recovery after an early top-order collapse against India after Kiwis were down 41/3 within powerplay, stitching a 116-run stand for the fourth wicket, taking NZ to 180/5 in 20 overs. Besides Arshdeep's 2/33, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy got a wicket each. While chasing 181 set by New Zealand, the world champions collapsed from 40/0 to 112/6, with Mitchell Santner's four-fer causing havoc in the middle overs. The hope was reinstated by a quickfire 31 in 17 balls (with a four and three sixes) by Naman Dhir, and it was Tilak (51* in 26 balls, with six fours and a six) and Nitish (26* in 13 balls, with a four and a six) who took India to victory with a ball left. India is 2-0 up in the five-match series. (ANI)
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