Auckland, Oct 30 (IANS) New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips enjoyed batting at Eden Park in Auckland as he smashed a brilliant 107 from 49 balls to power the team to a strong 87-run win against India in the fourth T20I of the series on Friday.
He reflected on his knock, saying that he felt fabulous for having contributed to the team yet again. "Yeah, it was fabulous. Obviously it was a really good pitch to bat on out there today, and I think we made the most of it, which was fantastic. And yeah, obviously nice to get a few and contribute to the lads," Phillips, who was named the Player of the Match, told broadcasters after the win.
Phillips was well partnered by another all-rounder Michael Bracewell in the fourth match, and the duo put up a 115-run partnership from 40 balls to help the Kiwis boss the crucial middle phase of the innings.
Phillips also reserved praise for Bracewell, who made 65 from 25 balls. "I think we really just talked about the fact that the wind from this end was probably the easier end to go from, but obviously the way Beast (Bracewell) hits, that doesn't really matter which end he goes from, and to be able to take that momentum, especially when it was sort of like a knife-edge part of the game, for us to take it effectively away from India like that was fantastic.
Phillips has been the best batter of the series so far as he has smashed 276 runs across the four innings. He has been on a purple patch and also opened up on his approach over the last six months.
"I think sometimes it's just ebbs and flows of the game. You see the ball well, and you see the ball badly at other times of the year, so I think it's just trying to make that purple patch last as long as possible and just try and make one nice decision as much as I can," he added.
The 29-year-old went off the field during India's chase after batting for nearly the entirety of the innings. He opened up on his decision to limit his fielding involvement and whether there are hamstring concerns.
"Yeah, it's feeling alright. Hopefully nothing too major. Probably more on the precautionary end than anything else. We've got a massive summer coming up ahead, and obviously I don't necessarily do anything at less than 100%, and it just wasn't worth the risk tonight," he concluded.
--IANS
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