India won the toss, elected to field. Colin Munro and skipper Kane Williamson smashed quickfire half-centuries as New Zealand made good use of the short boundaries at Eden Park to post 203 for five.
The immensely talented Shreyas Iyer enhanced his reputation as a finisher with a scintillating 29-ball-58 in India’s six-wicket victory over New Zealand.
Iyer built on KL Rahul’s (56 off 27 balls) blazing start and Virat Kohli’s useful 45 off 32 balls as India made short work of a 204-run target, knocking it off with an over to spare.
Credit should be given to Indian bowlers for restricting New Zealand towards the end considering the dimensions of the Eden Park.
Earlier, Colin Munro and Kane Williamson had smashed quick-fire half-centuries as New Zealand scored 203-5.
In pursuit of 204, India lost Rohit Sharma (7) early in the second over as he played one too many shots in a bid to go after spinner Mitchell Santner (1-50).
Rahul and Kohli then took charge of the innings with an 80-run partnership coming off only 47 balls. The duo launched a good array of strokes with seven fours and four sixes between them as New Zealand struggled to contain the runs.
India crossed 100 in the ninth over thanks to their whirlwind partnership, albeit both had chances. Rahul survived a mix-up as New Zealand failed to hit the stumps twice, and then Ish Sodhi dropped a sitter off Kohli. - PTI
NZ vs India 1st ODI of T20 International series scorecard
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Unlike most overseas tours, this will be a quick start for the Indian team. In a tight season, the first T20 comes only five days after their last ODI against Australia at home.
The team arrived in Auckland on Tuesday and chose to rest on Wednesday. Thursday was when they hit the nets ahead of the tour-opening game.
On the plus side, this hectic schedule helps the team management maintain consistency in team selection as they continue experimenting across the available squad in a World Cup year. The T20 showpiece is scheduled to be held in Australia in October this year.
