India vs New Zealand Highlights: India win by 48 runs, take 1-0 series lead

A comprehensive all-round effort from the world champions gets their final round of preparations off to a perfect start. Abhishek Sharma led the way with the bat, bringing up yet another fine fifty at the top. Suryakumar Yadav showed glimpses of his best touch but couldn’t quite kick on, while Hardik Pandya added some valuable runs in the middle. The finishing touches, though, belonged to Rinku Singh, whose brisk 44 off just 20 balls powered India to a strong total. For the visitors, Jacob Duffy impressed on his first outing in India, standing out as their most effective bowler.

India then struck early with Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya providing key breakthroughs in the powerplay. Glenn Phillips kept New Zealand in the hunt with another fine display, but the steep target always made things difficult. Chapman played a few handy strokes but found little support at the other end, as India closed things out comfortably to secure the win.

Interestingly, it is Shivam Dube who comes back into the attack. Santner nudges a single to get things underway before Mitchell looks to go big towards long-off, only for substitute fielder Ravi Bishnoi to take a superb catch, one that even Suryakumar Yadav applauds.

Dube strikes again straight away to put himself on a hat-trick, as Kristian Clarke targets long-on but finds Rinku Singh waiting safely under it.

The much-anticipated hat-trick ball turns into an anti-climax though, drifting wide outside off and leaving players, commentators and the crowd stunned.

Dube finishes the over calmly as India wrap things up in style, sealing a convincing 48-run victory.

INDIA WIN BY 48 RUNS

Arshdeep Singh returns for his final over with a chance to remove Mitchell, but Ishan Kishan spills a straightforward catch to let him off. It hardly hurts India, though, given how many runs are still needed. Arshdeep keeps things tight regardless, conceding just six from the over and maintaining the pressure.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (187/5 in 19 ovs) vs NZ. Mitchell (27*), Santner (19*)  

Jasprit Bumrah returns to finish his spell, set to bowl two of the final three overs. Santner shows his class early by clobbering him for a couple of boundaries, but Bumrah hits back with pinpoint yorkers right in the blockhole. Santner finds it hard to get under those, as most batters would. Mitchell then adds some invention, moving deep in the crease and playing a reverse ramp towards third man for a boundary.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (181/5 in 18 ovs) vs NZ. Mitchell (25*), Santner (15*)  

Arshdeep Singh comes back into the attack and keeps Mitchell quiet for most of the over, with the batter struggling to find the big shots. T20Is continue to look a tougher format for him compared to his 50-over form. That said, Mitchell finishes strongly with two boundaries — first a fortunate top-edge off a back-foot pull over the keeper, and then a clean carve over the third-man region.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (166/5 in 17 ovs) vs NZ. Mitchell (20*), Santner (5*)  

Abhishek Sharma settles into the attack with a tidy start. Mitchell backs away but finds cover, then miscues a flat-batted shot that bursts past Abhishek for a couple after brushing his hand. The over continues quietly, ending with just a single as India keep things tight and deny the big hits.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (154/5 in 16 ovs) vs NZ. Mitchell (11*), Santner (2*)  

Axar’s over turns eventful in a flash. He first sees a miscued heave from Mitchell drop just short of deep mid-wicket, a narrow escape from a wicket. The very next ball, Mitchell drills a half-volley straight back past him for four, and Axar gets a painful hand to it in his follow-through. The physio is called out as Axar walks off for treatment, a worrying moment for India.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (151/5 in 15.3 ovs) vs NZ. Mitchell (8*), Santner (2*)  

Varun Chakravarthy is in for his final over of the day. Chapman gets after the tossed up delivery and clears the long-on rope here for six runs. But the bowler has the last laugh as Chapman mistimes this one and finds Abhishek Sharma here.

Mark Chapman 39(24) c. A Sharma b. V Chakaravarthy

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (131/4 in 14.3 ovs) vs NZ. Mitchell (2*), Santner (0*)
 

India finally gets the breakthrough they were looking for. Glenn Phillips mistimes this one after getting the boundary off the first two balls. Axar kept it nice and flat, Phillips went for the pull but found Dube at long-on, who made no mistake with that catch. 

Glenn Phillps 78(40) c. Shivam Dube b. Axar Patel

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (131/4 in 14.3 ovs) vs NZ. Chapman (29*), Mitchell (0*)

Phillips takes on Axar right away with a cut past the covers for the boundary. He follows it up, coming down the track and hitting it cleanly over the covers for the maximum. Brilliant start to the over. 

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (131/3 in 13.2 ovs) vs NZ. Phillips (78*), Chapman (29*)

Varun Chakaravarthy returns for his third over and is greeted with a massive hit as Phillips launches one straight over the sightscreen for six. Varun responds well though, tightening his lines and allowing only singles and doubles for the rest of the over. Eleven runs come off it, but New Zealand will feel they missed a chance to get more. The pressure continues to build as the target keeps slipping further away.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (121/3 in 13 ovs) vs NZ. Phillips (68*), Chapman (29*)  

Shivam Dube continues his spell and, after a few quiet singles, Glenn Phillips absolutely nails a length ball, sending it soaring into the second tier. Even Phillips enjoys that one, and so does the New Zealand dugout. Chapman then caps the over with a flat six over the mid-wicket ropes. It nearly ends with drama though, as Dube’s slower short ball takes an under-edge but falls just short of the keeper.

 India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (110/3 in 12 ovs) vs NZ. Phillips (58*), Chapman (28*)  

Jasprit Bumrah returns after the drinks break and once again makes life difficult with his yorkers and a wide range of deliveries, keeping the batters quiet for most of the over. Big shots are hard to come by, but Chapman finds a release at the end, pulling one away to the square-leg boundary to finish on a positive note. The good news for the Kiwis is that Phillips has reached his fifty and they will be banking on him to stick around till the end. 

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (95/3 in 11 ovs) vs NZ. Phillips (50*), Chapman (21*)  

Shivam Dube comes into the attack and nearly strikes straight away with a sharp run-out chance. Sanju Samson had a nice throw but made a meal out of that. Gives a wry smile in disappointment there.  The over stays busy with singles and twos as Phillips and Chapman rotate the strike. Phillips then finishes in style, rocking back to a slower short ball and pulling it fiercely past square leg for four. A lively over, with New Zealand picking up some momentum.

 India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (87/3 in 10 ovs) vs NZ. Phillips (48*), Chapman (15*)

Varun Chakaravarthy’s over brings early action. Phillips punishes a full delivery by lofting it over long-on for six, but India pull things back with tight lines and good fielding. Chapman then gets a fortunate edge that runs away for four, before the over ends with a couple of runs. A mixed over, but India keep things under control.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (77/3 in 9 ovs) vs NZ. Phillips (39*), Chapman (14*)

Axar Patel continues his spell. Sanju Samson makes a wild appeal here. Seems like Chapman might have nicked one to the keeper on the leg-side as he looked to pull. Samson seems to be the only one convinced here and convinces SKY to take the review. Replays show that there was nothing there, and Sanju has his hands on his head in disappointment. 

Chapman follows it up with one clobbered towards the mid-wicket region for the boundary. 

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (63/3 in 8 ovs) vs NZ. Phillips (32*), Chapman (7*)

Varun Chakaravarthy comes into the attack and does not take long to get the wicket. Just business as usual for the No.1 T20I bowler. Tim Robinson had no idea what happened there. Came down the track only to give an easy catch to the mid-wicket region. 

Tim Robinson 21(15) c. Shivam Dube b. Varun Chakaravarthy

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (54/3 in 7 ovs) vs NZ. Phillips (28*), Chapman (1*)

First sign of spin as Axar Patel comes into the attack. Phillips looks to go after him, hits him towards the square-leg boundary but a brilliant effort by Rinku Singh who charges in to make the save. Great attitude here by the Indian fielders so far. Despite the target being a big one, they are not looking to show any mercy whatsoever. 

That being said, Phillips is not giving up here. Goes on the back foot against the shorter delivery and pulls it away for the maximum. A big over, but still not going at par. 

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (50/2 in 6 ovs) vs NZ. Robinson (20*), Phillips (28*)

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (39/2 in 5 ovs) vs NZ. Robinson (18*), Phillips (19*)

Tim Robinson now looks to get into this chase as he gets some shots going for him against Hardik Pandya. Looks like the movement has died down with the ball, and batters are taking advantage of this. Gets a streaky edge past the slips for the boundary and follows it up with the biggie over the mid-wicket ropes. Hardik is now mixing things up with the slower ones, but ends up conceding another boundary to end the over. Ishan Kishan put in the dive, but the ball just trickled for four runs. 

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (33/2 in 4 ovs) vs NZ. Robinson (18*), Phillips (13*)

Looks like Glenn Phillips is not looking to back down to the pressure. Starts off with a fine boundary towards the mid-wicket and caps off the over with a maximum down the ground. He seems to be in the zone at the moment and will be looking to carry on from where he left off in that third ODI. This could give Robinson the push they need to get his innings going.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (1/2 in 1.3 ovs) vs NZ. Robinson (3*), Phillips (12*)

Hardik Pandya begins from the other end and follows Arshdeep’s template from the previous over. A seam-up delivery, a hint of movement away from Ravindra, and the edge flies through to the slips. Another example of perfect seam position, easy on the eye, and yet another wicket falls.

Rachin Ravindra 1(5) c. Abhishek Sharma b. Hardik Pandya

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (1/2 in 1.3 ovs) vs NZ. Robinson (0*), Phillips (0*)

Arshdeep Singh keeps the momentum going after that breakthrough. He even goes close to picking up an LBW, but the replays confirm it was sliding down the leg side. India ends up burning a review, and Robinson survives with a second chance to make it count. Still, it’s been a solid start for India overall.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (1/1 in 1 ovs) vs NZ. Robinson (0*), Ravindra (1*)

An absolute peach from Arshdeep Singh to remove Devon Conway for a duck. Picture-perfect seam position gets the ball to move away late and draw the edge from Conway. Samson, meanwhile, dives full length to his left, almost into the first slip region, to complete a stunning catch. India really could not have asked for a better start at this moment.

Devon Conway 0(2) c. Sanju Samson b. Arshdeep Singh

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: New Zealand (0/1 in 0.2 ovs) vs NZ. Robinson (0*), Ravindra (0*)

Incredible finish from Rinku Singh. He bags 21 runs off the final over bowled by Daryl Mitchell.

Mitchell Santner is forced to give his part-timer one over because his other bowlers had finished. He did not want to bring in a spinner and hence had to hand the ball to Mitchell.

Rinku punishes Mitchell with two sixes and two fours in that over, all through the leg side and helps India to a big total.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (238/7 in 20 ovs) vs NZ. Rinku Singh (44*), Arshdeep Singh (6*).  

Oh dear!

Batting with the tail, Rinku Singh has taken strike in the very first ball of the 19th over.

Arshdeep Singh is on the other end and he has failed to get bat on ball in the next two deliveries from Jacob Duffy.

And after missing three back to back balls, Arshdeep manages to hit one, and that goes straight over the bowlers head for a boundary.

6 off the 19th over.

 India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (217/7 in 19 ovs) vs NZ. Rinku Singh (24*), Arshdeep Singh (6*).

Left-hander Rinku Singh, finally back in the line-up, is batting exceptionally well.

He pulls Kristian Clarke for a big six. To be fair, that was a half tracker, and a slow one at that. Rinku pummels the ball for a six.

The second ball was much better. Away from Rinku's arc, fast and pull, Rinku kind of chops the ball through the off side for four.

However, it is not all well for India, as Axar lofts a slower ball straight into the hands of long off. 103ks that one, Axar got drawn in and could not generate any power at all.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (211/7 in 18 ovs) vs NZ. Rinku Singh (23*), Axar Patel (5).

Abhishek Sharma reaches 5000 T20 runs, becomes 4th fastest Indian to reach the milestone.

Suryakumar Yadav shows signs of form, becomes 3rd fastest Indian to 9000 T20 runs.

Very, very, very smart bowling from Jacob Duffy!

In a match where bowlers are getting belted for over 10 run an over, Duffy not only has managed to keep Hardik Pandya quiet, but has been able to dismiss the batter as well.

Impeccable lengths from the bowler.

Pins in the yorker and then bowls a slower back of the length ball, inviting the pull shot from Hardik Pandya.

Hardik is up for the challenge as well. He pulls, but Mark Chapman at the midwicket boundary hops and takes a very good high catch above his head.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (187/6 in 16 ovs) vs NZ. Rinku Singh (5*), Hardik Pandya (25).

Hardik Pandya is continuing India's barrage of hits in Nagpur.

This is the template that made India unbeatable in T20Is, which was lost once Shubman was inducted in the Indian team.

Despite the fall of wickets, India are not slowing down.

Right now, Rinku Singh has joined Hardik Pandya as India look to maximise the final 5 overs.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (182/5 in 15 ovs) vs NZ. Rinku Singh (3*), Hardik Pandya (24*).

Shivam Dube loses his wicket after just playing 4 balls.

This is not good from the all-rounder.

He crunches a six off short ball against Kyle Jamieson. Pulling the delivery for a huge six over deep square. Like he almost expected it.

In the very next ball, Dube is targetted with another short ball. This time he wants to tap the ball down the leg side, and ends up giving a leading edge, straight into the pacer's hands.

India are 5 wickets down in the 14th over.

 India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (168/5 in 14 ovs) vs NZ. Shivam Dube (9), Hardik Pandya (12*).

This is where it gets interesting.

What do India do when Abhishek Sharma is not at the crease. The intent so far has been superb. Can India continue doing that throughout this innings?

Or will India falter?

It is interesting that after Abhishek's over, 13th over is the first time that India did not score a boundary!

An absolute carnage from Abhishek Sharma in this match.

He departs after scoring 84 off India's 149 runs.

Talk about impact!

End of an extremely entertaining knock from Abhishek Sharma!

And he is not happy about it.

He tried to hit every single ball for a six in the 12th over.

Ish Sodhi was at the receiving end of it. And bar the last one, each one of them nearly went for a six.

11.1: Ish Sodhi to Abhishek Sharma, FOUR! Flatter one, slightly short as well. Abhishek steps out and flat-bats it back over the bowler's head for a boundary. India have no intention of taking their foot off the accelerator.

11.2: Ish Sodhi to Abhishek Sharma, SIX! A valiant effort from Daryl Mitchell but it goes in vain. Tossed up wide outside off, Sharma dances down the pitch and swats it flat and wide of long off. Mitchell times the leap to perfection but just can't palm the ball in cleanly and it lands on the ropes.

11.3: Ish Sodhi to Abhishek Sharma, SIX! In the slot and out of the park! Hit over the midwicket and Abhishek Sharma hits his second six of the over. This one is high into the night sky and lands well beyond the boundary line as well.

11.6: Ish Sodhi to Abhishek Sharma, OUT! CAUGHT! Ish Sodhi gets his man eventually but the damage has already been done. Abhishek Sharma falls for 84 runs off just 35 balls. He goes for the same shot agian. But the ball is not quite on the leg side. It balloons up in the sky and lands into the hands of longon!

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (149/4 in 12 ovs) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (84), Hardik Pandya (5*)

Wow!

What is going on!

13 runs from Mitchell Santner's over, but he has managed to bag the wicket of Indi captain Suryakumar Yadav.

Take a look at the full over here.

10.1: Mitchell Santner to Suryakumar Yadav, Oh, nearly a breakthrough right after the break. Nicely flighted, wide outside off. Yadav comes down the pitch and lifts it over extra cover. The long off fielder runs in but the ball falls well short. Single taken.

10.2: Mitchell Santner to Abhishek Sharma, SIX! Up, up and away! Tossed up around middle and leg, Abhishek Sharma clears the front leg and heaves it high over wide long on for a biggie.

10.3: Mitchell Santner to Abhishek Sharma, WIDE. Quicker one, darted well outside off. Left alone for a wide.

10.3: Mitchell Santner to Abhishek Sharma, Nothing seems to be going New Zealand's way. Fired in, wide outside off, Abhishek miscues the lofted drive but mistimes it well enough. The ball lands short of the incoming long off fielder and the batters pick up a single.

10.4: Mitchell Santner to Suryakumar Yadav, OUT! CAUGHT! This one does carry and Tim Robinson makes no mistake. Cleverly bowled by Mitchell Santner as he flights the ball up and drifts it in with the arm. Suryakumar Yadav looks to back away but fails to create enough room andlofts it over mid on. Robinson runs in from the deep and dives forward to take a fine catch. SKY departs for a well-made 32 (22) and India are now 126/3.

10.5: Mitchell Santner to Hardik Pandya, FOUR! Wow, that nearly cleaned up the bowler and the umpire.

10.6: Mitchell Santner to Hardik Pandya, No run. Slammed hard at Santner once again. This time the ball is not off the middle of the bat, and rolls to Santner.

Phew! Half the overs are done, and can you really tell that this is the same innings where India lost 2 wickets in the first 4 overs?

Can you tell that New Zealand have actually bowled well?

This is what Abhishek Sharma can do to you.

India are 117/2 in 10 overs

Runs are flowing as Ish Sodhi concedes 11 runs in his second over of the game.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (117/2 in 10 ovs) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (60*), Suryakumar Yadav (31*). 

Is there a better batter than Abhishek Sharma in the T20I format right now?

BTW, Abhishek's fifty is the fastest by an Indian against New Zealand in T20Is. 

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has come to bowl in the 9th over of the match.

He delivers a couple of very good balls to Suryakumar Yadav, who inside edges the deliveries and is lucky to not lose his wicket.

Against Abhishek, the story is a little different, as the batter pulls Santner for a massive six to help India reach the total of 100 runs.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (106/2 in 9 ovs) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (59*), Suryakumar Yadav (21*). 

This is an exceptional fifty from Abhishek Sharma. When he bats, it does not feel like there is an effect of falling of wickets at all.

Abhishek breezes to his fifty in just 22 balls, and helps India close in on the 100-run mark, much before the 10th over.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (96/2 in 8 ovs) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (51*), Suryakumar Yadav (19*). 

Oh wow!

New Zealand have just misfielded not once but twice in the same over!

This is as rare as it gets!

7.1: Glenn Phillips to Abhishek Sharma, FOUR! Oh, dear! Kristian Clarke is beaten by the spin. Phillips begins from around the wicket, on the shorter side, on off. Abhishek gives the bowler the charge and hits it towards deep cover. He does not quite get hold of it. Clarke moves to his left in the deep but fails to read the spin and ends up overruning the ball.

7.3: Glenn Phillips to Abhishek Sharma, Four! This one is even worse. A misfield again at the same position. Simple check drive from Sharma, straight to Clarke, who this time sits down but gets beaten by the spin of the ball once again.

In the next ball, Abhishek Sharma completes his fifty, in just 22 balls.

Right then, the first powerplay is done, and New Zealand have introduced spin straightaway.

Ish Sodhi comes to bowl and this might turn out to be a fascinating contest between him and Abhishek Sharma.

Abhishek made his name as a spin hitter in the SunRisers Hyderabad, and Sodhi is an extremely crafty spinner in the T20I format.

6.2: Ish Sodhi to Abhishek Sharma, Out comes the googly, shorter and on off, Abhishek checks his shot and chips it uppishly but well away from the bowler to his right. It rolls to long off and they cross.

6.5: Ish Sodhi to Abhishek Sharma, Four! Ish Sodhi forces the ball wide, and gets cut by Abhishek Sharma for four.

Good contest this!

Abhishek Sharma has dominated the powerplay, as expected.

5.2: Kristian Clarke to Abhishek Sharma, SIX! All the way! 4th six for Abhishek in his 30 runs. On middle, on a back of a length, Abhishek steps out and opens up the front hip to carve it over cover for a biggie.

Abhishek's incredible dominance has taken the pressure off Suryakumar Yadav and he has started to play his shots as well.

Surya has not hit a fifty for a long long time now. And it seems that, that might change today.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (68/2 in 6 ovs) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (31*), Suryakumar Yadav (16*). 

The No.1 T20I batter in the world - Abhishek Sharma is looking in incredible touch.

He is so devastating in the powerplay against the new ball, against the best bowlers in the side.

Sharma has hit 3 sixes already, both in the same manner, down the park. One against Jacob Duffy and the others against Kyle Jameison.

No boundary from the batter yet.

India seem to be trusting their old style of batting, where they will hit no matter what. No anchoring business here today.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (54/2 in 5 ovs) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (24*), Suryakumar Yadav (9*).

Ishan Kishan started so well. He hit a boundary in the first ball of the over. Took it like a fish to water that guy.

Here's a glimpse of his eventful stay in the crease.

1.6: Kyle Jamieson to Ishan Kishan, FOUR! What a way to end an eventful over, 14 runs and a wicket off it. Pitched up around middle, right in the slot, Ishan Kishan hits through the line and effortlessly lofts it back over the bowler's head for a boundary.

2.3: Jacob Duffy to Ishan Kishan, FOUR! Kishan looks in pristine form at the moment. Back of a length, angled across off, Kishan leans across and plays a short-arm pull, nailing it over mid-wicket for a boundary.

2.5: Jacob Duffy to Ishan Kishan, OUT! CAUGHT! Another soft dismissal and India are just looking to smash every ball in the Powerplay. Jacob Duffy takes a bit of pace off this delivery and bowls it back of a length outside off. Ishan Kishan steps forward to go over the off side but has to reach for it. Kishan hits it in the air and straight to the extra cover fielder. Mark Chapman takes an easy catch and India are 27/2 inside the first 3 overs.

OMDS!

Jacob Duffy strikes in his first match in the Indian subcontinent.

Despite starting aggressively, Ishan Kishan falls cheaply on his return to the Indian team.

2.5: Jacob Duffy to Ishan Kishan, OUT! CAUGHT! Another soft dismissal and India are just looking to smash every ball in the Powerplay. Jacob Duffy takes a bit of pace off this delivery and bowls it back of a length outside off. Ishan Kishan steps forward to go over the off side but has to reach for it. Kishan hits it in the air and straight to the extra cover fielder. Mark Chapman takes an easy catch and India are 27/2 inside the first 3 overs.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (31/2 in 3 ovs) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (7*), Ishan Kishan (8).

Oh No! Sanju Samson's stay has been cut short. And who else but Kyle Jamieson to take the breakthrough for New Zealand!

He sticks to the plan. Targets the batter's body. Samson ends up chipping the ball straight into the hands of mid wicket fielder.

1.5: Kyle Jamieson to Sanju Samson, OUT! CAUGHT! Kyle Jamieson has the last laugh and boy, he is pumped. This is pitched fuller and around middle, angling in. It is there to be put away as well but Sanju Samson just clips it using his wrists and straight to Rachin Ravindra at mid-wicket. Rachin snaffles it to his left and that is a soft dismissal for Samson. He has to walk back for 10 (7) and India are 18/1.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (18/1 in 2 ovs) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (6*), Sanju Samson (10).

Good start from Sanju Samson in the 2nd over. Samson gets a couple of short balls from Kyle Jamieson and heaves it or boundaries.

The first one is a traditional pull on the backfoot through square leg. The second one is a front foot pull through the leg side!

Jacob Duffy, world no.2 T20I bowler, starts with a wide line against Abhishek Sharma.

He sees Abhishek Sharma charge, and pushes the ball across from over the wicket.

Umpire calls it wide.

Against Sanju Samson, Duffy keeps the off stump line. Samson is conservative in his approach in the first over.

Smart bowling from Duffy in the first over.

He goes short against Abhishek after going wide in the first ball. Abhishek still wants to charge and finally gets it in his arc in the final ball of the over.

Against the fuller length ball, Abhishek comes out and hits the ball for a six straight down the ground.

India vs New Zealand Live Score, 1st T20I: India (8/0 in 1 ov) vs NZ. Abhishek Sharma (6*), Sanju Samson (0*).

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are out to open the innings for India.

What a sight this is. Back together once again just before the World Cup, like it was meant to be.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav is playing his 100th T20I today.

Will he bat No.3 or will he bat No.4?

Indian Playing XI

Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

India do not have Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana and Tilak Varma replacement Shreyas Iyer.

Ishan Kishan makes his return to the national team today.

New Zealand playing XI

Tim Robinson, Devon Conway (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy

The Kiwis have a full strength bowling attack today.

Toss time in Nagpur

New Zealand have won the toss and opted to bowl first.

Suryakumar Yadav says that he is happy to bat first.

India have had a mixed record in Nagpur.

India have played 5 matches in the stadium, and they have won three of them and lost two.

The two matches that India lost in this stadium came in 2009 and 2016, where India lost to Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

India are unbeaten on this ground ever since.

England, Bangladesh, Australia have lost matches against India in 2017, 2019 and 2022 respectively.

The India vs New Zealand's match is set to start from 7 pm.

We are just 10 minutes away from toss time in Nagpur.

Just interrupting the India vs New Zealand blog for a bit. There is a huge break from the ICC.

They have rejected Bangladesh's bid to shift their T20 World Cup matches out of India.

ICC has warned Bangladesh that if they do not change their stance, they will be chucked out of the T20 World Cup and be replaced by Scotland.

Bangladesh have been given one day to ponder and come back with their final verdict on the matter.

Here is the link to the full story.

Meanwhile, Akshay Ramesh has written about how people need to calm down about Gautam Gambhir.

Akshay has written that while Gambhir's criticism is justified, there is no need to get ugly about things. Gambhir is in his home territory, which is the T20I side of things, and one can expect him to do well here.

Here is Akshay's in-depth copy about Gautam Gambhir.

"Had I been playing a single (individual) sport like TT or tennis, I would have worried about my form. But this is team sport and my first responsibility is to ensure that my team does well. If team wins, I am happy and if I can contribute in team's success then fine and if not, doesn't matter as it can happen. But I have to look at 14 other players also and there is no place for looking at personal milestones," Suryakumar said when he was asked if was worried about his form.'

I mean, at least he outright did not state that he was not out of form, something that he had been doing till now.

The first T20I will be streamed live on the JioHotstar app and website, while the match will also be telecast on the Star Sports network from 7.00 PM IST on Wednesday.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav will be keen to put his batting struggles behind him and sharpen his leadership skills as the hosts step into their final dress rehearsal ahead of their T20 World Cup title defense.

The five-match T20I series against New Zealand serves as the last major checkpoint before the global showpiece gets underway on February 7. While India boast a winning percentage of over 72 under Suryakumar's captaincy, the skipper's own returns with the bat have left much to be desired.

Saurabh Kumar with the analysis of the batter's form.

Gautam Gambhir's Indian team are coming off a historic loss in the ODI series.

New Zealand had never won a bilateral series in India even till 2024. But that was changed. In back to back years, NZ have won a Test series and ODI series in India.

This will have them brimming with confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Having said that, the T20I team of India and ODI team of India are vastly different. Amongst the main players, only Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav are the only common players.

Will NZ to be effective? Or will they falter? That's what we are here to see today.

Both the teams - India and New Zealand return to full strength in this series.

For New Zealand, the likes of Mitchell Santner, Jacob Duffy etc are set to come back in this series. They skipped the previous leg of the series, which was 3 ODIs against Shubman Gill's Indian team.

Well then. I am Kingshuk Kusari, and I will bring you the complete experience of the match today.

This blog will have analysis, videos and photos of top moments, live commentary and of course the best memes from the game.

So, even if you are watching the match on a screen, we would recommend that you stay and keep an eye on our blog because this one will be about so much more.

Hello and welcome to India Today's live coverage of India and New Zealand's 1st T20I match of the series. 

The two countries are playing their final bilateral series before the T20 World Cup 2026. And it will be hugely important in the build-up of the series.