Chasing the massive total of 204-runs, Indian batsmen showed their top-class in the first T20 against New Zealand, as the Men in Blue defeated Kiwis by six wickets to lead the five-match series by 1-0.
Batting first New Zealand set a target of 204-runs for India.
While opener Rohit Sharma could contribute much, but KL Rahul once again proved his value in the team as he went on playing 56-runs innings creating a backbone partnership with skipper Virat Kohli.
Kohli (45) also did power-hitting with Rahul to keep required run-rate under 10.
In the end, Shreyas Iyer (41) and Manish Pandey (13) sealed the win for India.
BRIEF SCORE
New Zealand: 203/5 (20-overs)
India: 204/4 (19-overs)
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The Kiwis are hosting India for the five-match T20I series, followed by three-ODIs and two Tests.
India’s T20I squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur.
New Zealand T20I squad: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, and Hamish Bennett.