Superb knocks by KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer helped India chase down the target of 204 against New Zealand in the first T20I of the five-match series at Eden Park on Friday.
Rahul scored 56 and Iyer remained unbeaten at 58.
Chasing 204, India got off to a poor start as the side lost its opener Rohit Sharma (7) in the second over when Mitchell Santner sent him back to the pavilion.
Rahul found the support of skipper Virat Kohli and the duo hammered the hosts all round the park. The Men in Blue brought up the score of 100 in just the ninth over of the innings.
Kohli and Rahul stitched a partnership of 99 runs. Rahul’s (56) stint at the crease finally came to an end in the 10th over when he was dismissed by Ish Sodhi.
Soon after, the Men in Blue dealt a huge blow as Kohli (45) was dismissed by Blair Tickner, thereby reducing India to 121/3 in the 12th over.
Shivam Dube, who was sent up the order, failed to leave a mark after being dismissed for just 13 runs, leaving the Indian team in a spot of bother.
Iyer and Manish Pandey calmed some nerves in the Indian camp and the duo ensured the victory for the side by six wickets with six balls to spare.
It’s in the bag! @ShreyasIyer15’s 5⃣8⃣*, @klrahul11’s 5⃣6⃣ and @imVkohli’s 4⃣5⃣ take #TeamIndia home. #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/B0nqmWiqMr
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 24, 2020
Iyer and Pandey remained unbeaten on 58 and 14, respectively.
India and New Zealand will take on each other in the second T20I on January 26.
Brief Scores: India 204/4 (KL Rahul 56, Shreyas Iyer 58*, Ish Sodhi 2-36) defeat New Zealand 203/5 (Colin Munro 59, Ross Raylor 54*, Ravindra Jadeja 1-18) by six wickets.