New Zealand Build Early Chase Against India at Seddon Park
New Zealand were 82 for 1 after 8.2 overs as they chased India's 191 for 8 in the fifth Twenty20 international at Seddon Park, Hamilton, on Sunday 1 November. To win, New Zealand need to score 192, one more than India managed.
Mitch Santner won the toss for New Zealand and chose to field, so India batted first. Shreyas Iyer captained India. India used all 20 of their overs, the full allowance in a Twenty20 innings, and finished on 191 for 8, according to the BBC scorecard.
New Zealand lost their first wicket early. Finn Allen was out for 2, caught by Kishan off the bowling of Singh. Tim Seifert then took control, unbeaten on 46 from 32 balls, while Daryl Mitchell was not out on 29 from 15 balls.
The job still ahead is a big one. New Zealand need 110 more runs from 11.4 overs, which works out at roughly 9.6 runs an over. They have nine wickets in hand. A required rate is the average each over the chasing side must score to reach the target, and it tends to climb when wickets fall or the scoring slows.
The fifth match is part of India's tour of New Zealand, and the series has already produced swings. Reuters reported that India had moved 2-0 up after a four-wicket win on 24 October, with Varma and Reddy adding 69 for the seventh wicket. Reuters then reported that New Zealand bounced back in the fourth match. Glenn Phillips made 107, and New Zealand won by 87 runs, a win Reuters described as a consolation.
Phillips's innings is the reason New Zealand's batters were in the match at all in that game, and the same batting depth is what they will lean on now. Seifert and Mitchell have already shown they can keep the scoreboard moving without needing to take big risks early. The question for New Zealand is whether they can keep up that tempo for the rest of the chase.
For India, the task is to take wickets while the batters are still settling. Every over that passes without a wicket keeps the required rate close to where New Zealand want it, and every dismissal changes the sums. Anyone following on a phone can track the balance from over to over, because a single boundary or a lost wicket can shift a T20 chase quickly.
