New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner bowled four overs against India in the second T20I on Saturday (October 24) and picked up 4 wickets for 21 runs during the 181-run chase at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. He opened his wicket account by removing Abhishek Sharma on the fourth ball of the ninth over and then bowled his Indian counterpart, Shreyas Iyer, on the third ball of the 11th over. Two balls later, Axar Patel was also sent back to the pavilion by Santner, and in his last over of the match, Santner picked up Naman Dhir’s wicket as well.
Even though Santner’s four-wicket haul wasn’t enough to help the Kiwis get the better of India and level the series, it helped him equal a 19-year-old record.
The spin-bowling all-rounder is the second New
Zealand captain and the fourth overall in the world to take a four-wicket haul in T20Is against India. Before him, Daniel Vettori also dismissed four Indian batters as captain in a match in 2007.
Vettori, who is the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, finished with figures of 4 for 20 on September 16, 2007, during a T20 World Cup match in Johannesburg.
Best bowling figures in T20Is against India by captain
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | OVERS | RUNS | WICKETS | ECONOMY | VENUE | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daren Sammy | West Indies | 4.0 | 16 | 4 | 4 | Port of Spain | June 4, 2011 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 4.0 | 20 | 4 | 5 | Johannesburg | September 16, 2007 |
| Gerhard Erasmus | Namibia | 4.0 | 20 | 4 | 5 | Delhi | February 12, 2026 |
| Mitchell Santner | New Zealand | 4.0 | 21 | 4 | 5.25 | Christchurch | October 24, 2026 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 4.0 | 16 | 3 | 4 | Ranchi | November 19, 2021 |
| Sikandar Raza | Zimbabwe | 4.0 | 25 | 3 | 6.25 | Harare | July 6, 2024 |
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 4.0 | 26 | 3 | 6.5 | Bridgetown | June 20, 2024 |
| Mitchell Santner | New Zealand | 4.0 | 26 | 3 | 6.5 | Visakhapatnam | January 28, 2026 |
| Mitchell Santner | New Zealand | 4.0 | 27 | 3 | 6.75 | Kolkata | November 21, 2021 |
The other two captains to take four-wicket hauls in T20Is against India are Daren Sammy of the West Indies and Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus. Sammy dismissed four Indian batters for 16 runs in Port of Spain on June 4, 2011, while Gerhard Erasmus finished with figures of 4 for 21 in Delhi on February 12, 2026.
Santner’s four-wicket haul in the second T20I also helped him become the first bowler in the world to take two four-wicket hauls against India in the 20-over format of the game.
Most 4-wicket hauls vs India in T20Is
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES (INNINGS) | ECONOMY | 4W | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Santner | New Zealand | 2016-2026 | 29 | 29 | 4/11 | 7.77 | 2 | 0 |
| Jofra Archer | England | 2021-2026 | 16 | 22 | 4/33 | 9.28 | 1 | 0 |
| Ottneil Baartman | South Africa | 2025-2025 | 3 | 5 | 4/24 | 8.95 | 1 | 0 |
| Jason Behrendorff | Australia | 2017-2023 | 10 | 13 | 4/21 | 6.74 | 1 | 0 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 2017-2021 | 7 | 12 | 4/34 | 8.23 | 1 | 0 |
| Dwayne Bravo | West Indies | 2009-2016 | 6 | 7 | 4/38 | 9.35 | 1 | 0 |
| Peter Chase | Ireland | 2018-2018 | 2 | 5 | 4/35 | 9.62 | 1 | 0 |
| Jade Dernbach | England | 2011-2012 | 5 | 7 | 4/22 | 8.41 | 1 | 0 |
| Gerhard Erasmus | Namibia | 2021-2026 | 2 | 4 | 4/20 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sri Lanka | 2020-2025 | 14 | 18 | 4/9 | 7.95 | 1 | 0 |
| Marco Jansen | South Africa | 2022-2026 | 12 | 13 | 4/22 | 8.48 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Jordan | England | 2017-2024 | 16 | 24 | 4/27 | 9.28 | 1 | 0 |
| Obed McCoy | West Indies | 2022-2023 | 9 | 12 | 6/17 | 9.38 | 0 | 1 |
| Mohammad Asif | Pakistan | 2007-2007 | 2 | 5 | 4/18 | 6.14 | 1 | 0 |
| Lungi Ngidi | South Africa | 2022-2026 | 10 | 16 | 4/29 | 8.28 | 1 | 0 |
| Matheesha Pathirana | Sri Lanka | 2024-2024 | 3 | 5 | 4/40 | 10.54 | 1 | 0 |
| Keemo Paul | West Indies | 2018-2026 | 11 | 14 | 5/41 | 9.81 | 0 | 1 |
| Daren Sammy | West Indies | 2010-2016 | 4 | 5 | 4/16 | 5.12 | 1 | 0 |
| Romario Shepherd | West Indies | 2022-2026 | 13 | 12 | 4/31 | 11.07 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh Tongue | England | 2026-2026 | 4 | 7 | 4/28 | 10.18 | 1 | 0 |
| Umar Gul | Pakistan | 2007-2014 | 6 | 11 | 4/37 | 8.27 | 1 | 0 |
| Shadley van Schalkwyk | USA | 2024-2026 | 2 | 4 | 4/25 | 6.25 | 1 | 0 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 2007-2012 | 4 | 6 | 4/20 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
During the 2016 T20 World Cup match against India in Nagpur on March 15, Santner returned with figures of 4 for 11 in four overs.
A total of 22 other bowlers have one four-wicket haul each to their names in T20Is against India, and only two bowlers — Obed McCoy and Keemo Paul — have dismissed at least five Indian batters in a T20I match.
Santner has 29 wickets to his name in T20Is against the three-time T20 World Cup winners. Only Ish Sodhi is ahead of him on the list of bowlers with the most T20I wickets against India.
Most wickets against India in T20Is
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES (INNINGS) | ECONOMY | 4W | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ish Sodhi | New Zealand | 2016-2026 | 25 | 30 | 3/18 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitchell Santner | New Zealand | 2016-2026 | 29 | 29 | 4/11 | 7.77 | 2 | 0 |
| Chris Jordan | England | 2017-2024 | 16 | 24 | 4/27 | 9.28 | 1 | 0 |
| Jofra Archer | England | 2021-2026 | 16 | 22 | 4/33 | 9.28 | 1 | 0 |
| Adil Rashid | England | 2017-2026 | 24 | 22 | 2/14 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 2009-2022 | 17 | 20 | 3/16 | 8.72 | 0 | 0 |
As captain, Santner has picked up 16 wickets in 12 T20Is against India, the most by any player in the world.
