India brought down a 200+ total with 6 balls to spare and won the match by 6 wickets. Shreyas Iyer was named the “Player of the Match” for his blistering batting performance. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul also played key roles in India’s victory.
India vs New Zealand 1st T20I:
India won the toss and opted to field first. New Zealand’s opener Martin Guptill and Colin Munro started their innings with master-class power-hitting. Guptill struck 30 from 19 balls, while Colin Munro smacked 59 runs from 42 deliveries.
New Zealand’s skipper Kane Williamson struck 51 runs from 26 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes, while Ross Taylor added the finishing touch to the hosts’ innings his unbeaten 54 from 27 balls. New Zealand amassed a total of 203/5 after 20 overs. Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shivam Dube, and Ravindra Jadeja all took 1 wicket each for India.
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In their chase for a total of 204, India lost their star batsman Rohit Sharma in the 2nd over of the innings. But, India’s other star batsmen were there to save the day for their team. KL Rahul’s 27-ball 56 runs gave India their dream start into the match.
Skipper Virat Kohli built up from where KL Rahul left off and added another 45 from 32 balls. India was still almost halfway away from victory. It was then that Shreyas Iyer came to bat at no. 4 and played a classic undefeated inning of 58 runs from 29 balls to secure the game for India.
Shreyas Iyer struck 5 fours and 3 sixes as India brought down 204/4 in just 19 overs. New Zealand’s Ish Sodhi secured 2 wickets, while Mitchell Santner and Blair Tickner took 1 wicket each for New Zealand.
India is now leading the 5-match series by 1-0. The next T20I will be played on January 26.
