NZ vs India 4th T20I Preview: Iyer's India Eye a 5-0 Sweep
India take a 3-0 lead into the fourth T20I against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland, on Friday 30 October (8pm local, 12:30pm IST), with the series already in the bag. Shreyas Iyer's side have chased in all three games, including 226 in Christchurch, the highest successful T20I chase in India's history. With the fifth match in Hamilton on Sunday 1 November, the only question left is whether India can finish the job 5-0.
How India got to 3-0
The series has followed a pattern: New Zealand post a big total, India hunt it down. What has changed from game to game is who did the hunting.
In the opener at Hagley Oval on 22 October, Glenn Phillips smashed an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls to lift the Black Caps to 225 for 4. India answered with 230 for 6 in 19.4 overs. Sanju Samson's 67 off 33 balls set the tone, Iyer added 42 and Naman Dhir's 42 off just 15 balls closed it out. India's previous best T20I chase was 211, against Sri Lanka back in 2009.
Two days later, again in Christchurch, the chase nearly went wrong. Mitchell Santner's 4 for 21 left India at 112 for 6 in the 15th over, needing 181. Tilak Varma (51 not out off 26 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (26 not out) then added 69 for the seventh wicket, and Reddy hit the winning runs with one ball to spare.
Wellington on 27 October was a demolition. Daryl Mitchell's unbeaten 89 off 52 balls took New Zealand to 198 for 3, but Abhishek Sharma blasted 113 off 38 balls, with 11 sixes, and India got home in 13.2 overs. Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (45 off 19) put on 133 for the first wicket in just 7.1 overs.
Series so far at a glance
| Match | Venue | New Zealand | India | Result | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I, 22 Oct | Christchurch | 225/4 | 230/6 (19.4 ov) | India won by 4 wkts | Sanju Samson 67 (33) |
| 2nd T20I, 24 Oct | Christchurch | 180/5 | 181/6 (19.5 ov) | India won by 4 wkts | Tilak Varma 51* (26) |
| 3rd T20I, 27 Oct | Wellington | 198/3 | 199/4 (13.2 ov) | India won by 6 wkts | Abhishek Sharma 113 (38) |
| 4th T20I, 30 Oct | Auckland (Eden Park) | 8pm local / 12:30pm IST | - | ||
| 5th T20I, 1 Nov | Hamilton (Seddon Park) | Upcoming | - | ||
SportlyRadar angle: India's top order is winning the series
Look at how India's runs have come. In the first and third games, the openers did most of the damage inside the powerplay. Samson and Abhishek reached 50 in 3.2 overs in Christchurch, and the Abhishek–Sooryavanshi stand in Wellington killed the game before the halfway mark. The one time the top order fell cheaply, in the second T20I, India were 112 for 6 and needed a rescue act.
That tells New Zealand where the series turns. Santner's 4 for 21 showed that slow bowling into the pitch can hurt this Indian line-up once the field spreads. Expect the hosts to bring their spinners on early at Eden Park, a ground with short straight boundaries where pace on the ball tends to fly.
For India, the remaining two games are a chance to look at the squad. Whether Iyer and the team management rotate players for the dead rubbers will only be clear at the toss, so keep an eye on the team sheet.
New Zealand: plenty of runs, too few wickets
Santner's side have scored 180 or more in every game and still lost all three. Phillips (82* and 70) and Bevon Jacobs, who struck a half-century alongside Phillips in the second game, have formed a dangerous middle-order pair, and Mitchell's 89* was a reminder of his class. The problem has been the ball. In Wellington, India needed fewer than 14 overs to chase 199.
With the five-match ODI series starting at Eden Park on 4 November, the Black Caps will want to stop the rot before the 50-over leg. Pride, and the chance to avoid a home whitewash, should make this a competitive game.
Players to watch
- Abhishek Sharma (India): A 38-ball hundred in his last innings. If he gets going early at Eden Park, the small boundaries will do the rest.
- Tilak Varma (India): The calm head in a crisis, as his unbeaten 51 in the second T20I showed.
- Arshdeep Singh (India): India's most reliable seamer this series, with a wicket in each of the last two matches, including Phillips in Christchurch.
- Glenn Phillips (New Zealand): Two fifties in three innings and New Zealand's best bet to post a total India cannot reach.
- Mitchell Santner (New Zealand): The skipper's four-wicket haul is the closest anyone has come to stopping India.
Where to watch in India
The fourth T20I starts at 12:30pm IST on Friday. The series is being shown on the Sony Sports Network, with live streaming on SonyLIV. The fifth and final T20I is at Seddon Park, Hamilton, on Sunday 1 November.
FAQs
What is the score in the India vs New Zealand T20I series?
India lead 3-0 after winning in Christchurch (twice) and Wellington, so they have already won the five-match series.
When and where is the 4th T20I?
At Eden Park, Auckland, on Friday 30 October 2026, starting at 8pm local time, which is 12:30pm IST.
Who are the captains?
Shreyas Iyer leads India and Mitchell Santner captains New Zealand.
What comes after the T20Is?
Five ODIs, starting at Eden Park on 4 November, followed by two Tests in Wellington (from 19 November) and Christchurch (from 27 November).