This is India's third highest successful chase in T20Is. And fourth time, the Men in Blue chase down a target of 200 or more. KL Rahul was sensational to start with and then Shreyas Iyer took over. He and Manish Pandey added 62 off just 34 balls for the fifth wicket. IND vs NZ 1st T20I Full Scorecard.
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India vs New Zealand Highlights 1st T20I 2020: Shreyas Iyer Shines As IND Chase Down 204
Check IND vs NZ 1st T20I Live Score Updates: This will be the 12th T20I encounter between India and New Zealand. The Kiwis lead the head-to-head record with eight wins while India has emerged victorious on just three occasions.
24 Jan, 15:46 (IST)
India win by six wickets! That's it! Shreyas Iyer hits the winning six, India chase down 204 with an over to spare. That's fifty up for Iyer as well, he finishes unbeaten on 58 off 29 balls. 18 runs off this over. India go one up in the five-match series.
24 Jan, 15:41 (IST)
Good over this for India. Shreyas Iyer smashes Hamish Bennett for two back to back fours early in the over. 11 runs from this over. Two overs remaining now and India need 18 runs.
24 Jan, 15:36 (IST)
Ten runs from Tim Southee's over. India now needs 29 runs to win off 18 balls. New Zealand need to break this partnership otherwise India is inching towards the victory.
24 Jan, 15:33 (IST)
39 needed off 24 balls for India. The partnership between Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer is worth 23 off 16 balls. These two are staging India's comeback in a fine manner.
24 Jan, 15:27 (IST)
Down to last five overs now and India need 53 more runs to win. The required run-rate is worth 10.60 runs per over. India have six wickets in hand and are still in the hunt. Though the momentum is slightly in favour of New Zealand.
24 Jan, 15:23 (IST)
Six more overs to go now. Manish Pandey is the new batsman in, he joins Shreyas Iyer. Can these two take India home? This will be the big test for both these youngsters. India need 60 more runs to win off 36 balls.
24 Jan, 15:20 (IST)
OUT! India lose their fourth wicket. Shivam Dube departs. Ish Sodhi takes his second wicket. Good catch by Tim Southee near long-on. Shivam Dube c Southee b Ish Sodhi 13(9)
24 Jan, 15:18 (IST)
The equation for India now reads 62 more runs to win off 42 balls. Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube in with a task here as they need to take team India past New Zealand's total.
24 Jan, 15:12 (IST)
OUT! BIG wicket this for New Zealand. Blair Tickner gets rid of Virat Kohli. It is more of a fielder's wicket though as Martin Guptill takes a stunning catch near deep mid-wicket region. V Kohli c Guptill b Tickner 45(32)
24 Jan, 15:08 (IST)
India now need 83 more runs to win off 54 balls. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is nearing his half-century. The Indian captain holds the key for India. New Zealand would love to see his back as soon as possible.
24 Jan, 15:04 (IST)
OUT! KL Rahul perishes soon after completing his half-century. Good catch by Tim Southee. Ish Sodhi picks his first wicket. New Zealand needed a breakthrough here and they got one. KL Rahul c Southee b Ish Sodhi 56(27)
24 Jan, 15:01 (IST)
That's hundred up for India! Meanwhile, KL Rahul smashes his half-century. 50 off just 23 balls for the right-hander. Rahul and Virat Kohli making the chase look easy. New Zealand need a breakthrough.
24 Jan, 14:53 (IST)
KL Rahul is nearing his half-century, he is batting on 46 off 21 balls. Another good over for India as Mitchell Santner gives away 14 runs. India well on course to chase this down.
24 Jan, 14:48 (IST)
The partnership between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli is now worth 61 off 32 balls. The required run-rate for India stands at 9.77 runs per over while the Men in Blue are currently scoring at 11 runs per over.
24 Jan, 14:42 (IST)
Mix-up between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. But luckily for India no damage there. New Zealand had two opportunities to inflict a run-out, and both go begging. End of Powerplay overs.
24 Jan, 14:38 (IST)
Good over this for India as Tim Southee concedes 16 runs. KL Rahul smashed him for a six and a four. India doing well despite losing Rohit Sharma early. Last over of Powerplay coming up.
24 Jan, 14:33 (IST)
Blair Tickner comes into the attacks and Kohli smashes him over long-off. The Indian skipper looks in great touch. Nine runs from the fourth over for India.
24 Jan, 14:29 (IST)
Rohit's wicket is big loss for India but Virat Kohli looks to be in the mood for a big score. The Indian skipper send debutant Hamish Bennett into the boundary in his second delivery and India gets 10 runs from the 3rd over.
24 Jan, 14:27 (IST)
Out! Rohit Sharma goes 6 runs and Mitchell Santner has his 50th scalp in T20I cricket. Sharma had already smashed the previous delivery for hug six over long-on but Santner tosses it up again and Rohit trying to send another out of the park finds Ross Taylor at Backward point. Huge wicket for New Zealand. Rohit c Ross Taylor b Santner 7 (6)
India and New Zealand face-off in the first T20I at Eden Park in Auckland. This is the first of the five-match T20I series. Virat Kohli and Co have never featured in the five-match T20I series, and this will be the first five-game affair for the Men in Blue. New Zealand, on the other hand, have featured in one five-match series. That was played last year against England and Blackcaps lost that 3-2. Stay tuned for India vs New Zealand 1st T20I live score updates. New Zealand Vs India, Live Cricket Score 1st T20I Match.
The Men in Blue will be without the services of the left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan. During the third and final One-Day International (ODI), Dhawan was injured while fielding and did not bat in the game. He was subsequently ruled out of New Zealand T20I and ODI series.
Wicket-keeper batsman was named as Dhawan’s replacement in the T20I squad. However, he is unlikely to feature in the playing XI. KL Rahul was seen practising extensively with the wicket-keeping gloves, and it looks like he will continue to keep the wickets. If that will be the case, Rishabh Pant is likely to be left out of the final XI. Virat Kohli on the Brink of Becoming the First Indian to Score 9,000 Runs in T20s, Likely to Achieve the Feat During India vs New Zealand T20I Series 2020.
New Zealand too has some injury concerns. Tom Latham and Trent Boult are out of the series due to injuries. Hamish Bennett, who last played for New Zealand in 2017, is likely to be handed T20I debut.
Meanwhile, this will be the 12th T20I encounter between India and New Zealand. The Kiwis lead the head-to-head record with eight wins while India has emerged victorious on just three occasions.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 24, 2020 11:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).