India Crush New Zealand by 48 Runs in High-Scoring T20I Series Opener

With this win, the Men in Blue took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against the Black Caps.

Chasing a challenging target of 238 runs, New Zealand were off to a poor start. They lost opener Devon Conway (0) during the second ball of the first over.

In the very next over, all-rounder Hardik Pandya dismissed Rachin Ravindra (1) as the Black Caps slumped to 4/2.

However, Tim Robinson and Glenn Phillips stabilised the visitors' innings as New Zealand reached 33/2 after the end of four overs. After the end of the first six overs, the Black Caps posted 53/2.

During the third ball of the seventh over, spinner Varun Chakaravarthy dismissed Tim Robinson for 21 off 15 deliveries, including two fours and one six. After the end of the 10th over, New Zealand posted 87/3.

Glenn Phillips reached his fifty in just 29 deliveries during the fourth ball of the 11th over.

Spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel took the massive wicket of Glenn Phillips during the third ball of the 14th over. The right-handed batter played a fantastic knock of 78 runs off 40 deliveries, including four boundaries and six towering sixes.

In the very next over, Chakaravarthy removed Mark Chapman, who scored 39 runs off 24 deliveries with the help of six boundaries as New Zealand slumped to 144/5.

Towards the end, Daryl Mitchell (28 off 18 balls, including four boundaries) and Mitchell Santner (20* off 13 balls with two fours) tried hard, but New Zealand made 190/7 runs in 20 overs and lost the high-scoring contest by 48 runs.

With the ball, Arshdeep Singh (1/31), Hardik Pandya (1/20), Axar Patel (1/42), Varun Chakaravarthy (2/37), and Shivam Dube (2/28) were among the wicket-takers for India.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, a blistering knock by opener Abhishek Sharma and valuable contributions from Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh and captain Suryakumar Yadav guided Team India to a daunting 238/7 runs in 20 overs.

Team India were off to a poor start as they lost their opener, Sanju Samson, during the fifth ball of the second over. Speedster Kyle Jamieson dismissed Samson for 10 runs off seven balls, including two fours.

In the very next over, Ishan Kishan was removed by speedster Jacob Duffy. Kishan made eight runs off five balls along with two fours.

India reached 38/2 after the end of four overs. However, opener Abhishek Sharma and captain Suryakumar Yadav began playing attacking cricket as the Men in Blue reached 68/2 after six overs.

During the fourth ball of the eighth over, Abhishek slammed his seventh T20I fifty. The left-handed batter reached the milestone in just 22 deliveries.

A 22-ball fifty by Abhishek Sharma is also the quickest fifty in terms of balls faced for India against New Zealand in T20Is. The previous fastest was 23 balls each by KL Rahul (Auckland, 2020) & Rohit Sharma (Hamilton, 2020). After the end of the 10th over, India made 117/2.

Captain Mitchell Santner finally broke the 99-run stand for the third-wicket after he removed Suryakumar during the fourth ball of the 11th over. The Indian captain made 32 off 22 deliveries, including four boundaries and one six.

During the last ball of the 12th over, Ish Sodhi dismissed dangerous Abhishek Sharma for 84 runs (35 balls, five fours and eight sixes). With his blistering knock, the left-handed batter crossed the 5000-run landmark in T20 cricket. After the end of the 13th over, India made 154/4.

Sharma also became the fastest batter to score 5000 runs in T20 cricket in terms of balls. Sharma reached the landmark in 2988 deliveries, whereas West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell reached it in 2942 balls.

In the very next over, Kyle Jamieson removed all-rounder Shivam Dube after the speedster took a simple caught and bowled. Dube scored just nine runs. After the end of the 15th over, India were in a commanding position, reaching 182/5.

During the fourth ball of the 16th over, Jacob Duffy dismissed dangerous Hardik Pandya for 25 runs off 16 deliveries, including three fours and one six.

Towards the end, left-handed batter Rinku slammed an unbeaten 44 off 20 deliveries, including four boundaries and three sixes as India made 238/7 in 20 overs. With the ball, speedster Jacob Duffy (2/27) had good figures for New Zealand.

Brief scores: India 238/7 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 84, Rinku Singh 44*; Jacob Duffy 2/27) vs New Zealand 190/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 78; Shivam Dube 2/28.

- ANI