New Zealand managed to maintain their scoring momentum despite the dismissal of Glenn Phillips, putting on a strong batting display in the third T20I against India in Wellington.

After being put in to bat, the hosts got off to a shaky start. Openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen managed just four runs in the first eight balls before Arshdeep Singh dismissed Seifert for two off six deliveries. However, Finn Allen then joined forces with Daryl Mitchell, stitching together a crucial 86-run partnership off just 43 balls for the second wicket.

Allen looked dangerous, smashing five sixes in his 40 off 25 deliveries, before Nitish Kumar Reddy dismissed him in the ninth over, courtesy of a brilliant catch by Naman Dhir. Mitchell continued the charge, bringing up his half-century off just 26 balls with a six on the final delivery of the 11th over.

It was then that India's Axar Patel produced a moment of magic. On the final ball of the 12th over, Patel bowled a fuller delivery outside off, and the in-form Phillips attempted to loft it over cover.

However, he made contact with the inner half of the bat, allowing the spinner to complete a sharp caught-and-bowled dismissal to his left. Playing in his 100th T20I, Phillips was dismissed for 17 off 14 deliveries, hitting three fours. It was his first failure to register a half-century in the series, leaving New Zealand at 123/3 at the end of 12 overs.

Bevon Jacobs then walked in at No. 5 and ensured the scoring momentum didn't drop alongside Mitchell. At the time of writing, New Zealand had reached 165/3 after 17 overs, with Mitchell batting on a well-made 71 off 42 deliveries and Jacobs on 26 off 15.