Ind vs NZ 1st T20: India win by 53 runs vs New Zealand

New Delhi: India celebrated their first ever win over New Zealand in a T20 match when Virat Kohli and co defeated Kane Williamson’s side by 53 runs in the first T20 here on Wednesday.

India was put to bat by Kane Williamson, but that did not stop the hosts from scoring as they posted a mammoth total of 202-3 from 20 overs, thanks to knocks by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. In reply, New Zealand never found their way, as the Indian bowlers picked up wickets at regular intervals.

IIn the first over, it was Yuzvendra Chahal who picked up the wicket of opener Martin Guptill. Soon after, they lost captain Kane Williamson, who departed for 28. Axar Patel’s spin magic did the trick for India, as he removed Tom Bruce and Colin de Grandhomme in the 13^th over.

Later on, Chahal also removed Tom Latham, as India closed in on victory. In the end, the hosts were a better side than Kane Williamson’s men.

New Zealand innings

New Zealand 105-7 from 16 overs

Chahal has struck once again, as he has removed Tom Latham.  India are closing in on victory here.

New Zealand 84-5 from 13 overs

Axar Patel has struck in this over, as he removes Tom Bruce and Colin de Grandhomme. Good over for India.

New Zealand 80-3 from 12 overs

Chahal was brought back into the attack in the 12th over, but conceded a six in the second ball of that over.

New Zealand 65-3 from 10 overs

Hardik Pandya got the crucial wicket of captain Kane Williamson, thanks to an easy catch by MS Dhoni.

New Zealand 54-2 from 9 overs

Latham and Wiliamson took the Kiwis past 50, as they continued to take the innings forward on a cautious note. Good over by Axar, as he concedes just six runs.

New Zealand 48-2 from 8 overs

The Kiwis closed in on the 50-run mark, as Williamson and Latham looked to recover from an early blow.

New Zealand 33-2 from 6 overs

Kane Williamson brought a relief for New Zealand as he hit a six in the second ball of the sixth over. The Kiwis will need more of those shots if they are to win the game.

New Zealand 18-2 from 4 overs

Bhuvneshwar Kumar got rid of Colin Munro as New Zealand's batting woes continued.

New Zealand 7-1 from 2 overs

Yuzvendra Chahal got an early breakthrough for India, as a spectacular catch by Hardik Pandya helped him dismiss Martin Guptrill.

New Zealand 5-0 from 1 over

Ashish Nehra opened the bowling attack for India, and just conceded five runs from the first over.

New Delhi: A record 158-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan helped India post a massive total of 202-3 from 20 overs.

After having elected to bowl first, nothing went right for the visitors, as Rohit Sharma (80) and Shikhar Dhawan (80) set up the match for the hosts.

After just conceding two runs in the first over, boundaries were flowing for the hosts right from the second over.

It was Ish Sodhi in the 17^th over who got the breakthrough for the Kiwis, as he removed Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya in quick succession. However, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ensured that the hosts finished on a high, setting the visitors a mountain to climb.

India innings

India 160-2 from 17 overs

New Zealand finally got their breakthrough, as they removed dangerman Dhawan and Hardik Pandya in quick succession.

India 158-0 from 16 overs

This match has been completely dominated by the openers, as they have taken the hosts past 150. A total of 200 is on cards now.

India 140-0 from 15 overs

Rohit Sharma joined Shikhar Dhawan in scoring a half-century as he got to his 12th T20I fifty.

India 114-0 from 13 overs

Fourteen runs have come off the Sodhi over, thanks to a four and a six off the first two balls by Shikhar Dhawan.

India 100-0 from 12 overs

Shikhar Dhawan got to his third T20 international fifty, as India continued to progress ahead in the match.

India 80-0 from 10 overs

Halfway through the innings, India are already in the drivers seat. Not a good day for the visitors so far, as they have missed quite a lot of catching oppurtunities

India 74-0 from 9 overs

Nothing is going right for the Kiwis. Colin de Grandhomme, in this over, has conceded two no-balls, as Shikhar Dhawan inched towards a fifty. 

India 56-0 from 8 overs

Ish Sodhi was introduced to the attack, and it has been a good over for the Kiwis, as he has just conceded three runs.

India 53-0 from 7 overs

India continued to dominate the match, as the openers tookj the hosts past 50.

India 46-0 from 6 overs

Both the openers have powered the Indian team as they inch closer to 50.

India 38-0 from 5 overs

Yet another good over for the Men in Blue, as they scored eight rujns, including a wide. When will the Kiwis find a breakthrough?

India 30-0 from 4 overs

Boundaries are flowing here as the openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are not giving room to the Kiwis for a breakthrough.

India 21-0 from 3 overs

This over has also belonged to India, as eight runs have come off it.

India 13-0 from 2 overs

India have come back strongly in this over, thanks to two consecutive boundaries by Shikhar Dhawan. A poor over by Trent Boult.

India 2-0 from 1 over

The first over has turned out to be a good one for the Kiwis, having conceded just two runs so far.

Toss update:

New Zealand have won the toss and have elected to field. For India, Shreyas Iyer is all set to make his debut, whereas Ashish Nehra gets ready for his final game.

Shreyas Iyer has been handed his first T20 cap.

Here are the playing XI for both teams

Preview

New Delhi: All eyes will be on pacer Ashish Nehra on Wednesday, when Virat Kohli’s India take on Kane Williamson-led New Zealand side in the first T20 at the Feroz Shah Kotla here.

The Delhi pacer had on October 12 announced retirement from all forms of cricket and that the clash against the Kiwis at his home ground would be his last.

The hosts, though, are yet to beat the Black Caps in the shortest format of the game, with the New Zealanders having prevailed in five of the last six matches, with one match ending in a no result.

The recent meeting between these two sides in this format came during the ICC World T20 in India last year, where the Kiwis romped home with a 47-run victory in Nagpur.

For India, given that Ashish Nehra will play his final match, one of the premium pacers will have to sit out of the game.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if Shreyas Iyer would be given his T20 debut in the upcoming match.

For New Zealand, Tom Latham and Ross Taylor could be likely to keep th4eir place in the playing XI after good performances by both in the recently-concluded ODI series, which India won 2-1.

Virat Kohli and co will surely look to break the winless jinx against New Zealand in T20s, and would look to give a perfect send-off to Ashish Nehra, as he will hang up his boots after the opening match.  

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Ashish Nehra (only for first game), Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (Captain), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.

Match-timing:

The match is scheduled to start at 7 P.M. IST.

Where to watch:

The match can be viewed on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD 1. The match will also be live streamed on Hotstar.