Overview:
Suryakumar Yadav (32) and Hardik Pandya (25) also played handy knocks, but it was Rinku Singh who made the difference in the end.
India defeated New Zealand by 48 runs in the first T20I to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Chasing 239, the Kiwis managed 190/7 in the allotted 20 overs.
The visitors looked threatening when Glenn Phillips was in the middle, with the batter amassing 78 runs off 40 balls, laced with 6 sixes and 4 boundaries. However, his dismissal in the 14th over ended New Zealand’s chances.
Mark Chapman (39 off 24) and Tim Robinson (21 off 15) were also impressive with the bat. For India, Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Dube took two wickets each. Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh got rid of one batter each.
Earlier, Indian batters went after the bowlers despite losing wickets at regular intervals. Abhishek Sharma was the best of the lot, posting 84 runs off 35 balls, packed with 8 sixes and 5 fours. Suryakumar Yadav (32) and Hardik Pandya (25) also played handy knocks, but it was Rinku Singh who made the difference in the end. The southpaw scored an unbeaten 44 runs off 20 deliveries, with the help of 4 boundaries and 3 sixes.
Jacob Duffy was spot on with the ball, conceding 27 runs and taking two wickets. Although Kyle Jamieson also dismissed two batters, he gave away 54 runs. Kristian Clarke, Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner also added one scalp each to their bowling figures.