India chase 226 to beat New Zealand by four wickets
Naman Dhir's unbeaten 42 off 15 balls delivered India's highest successful T20I chase and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
India chased 226 to beat New Zealand by four wickets in the first T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday. Naman Dhir remained unbeaten on 42 off 15 balls to complete the visitors' highest successful run chase in the format and give them a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Sanju Samson scored 67 off 33 balls and combined with Abhishek Sharma for 94 runs in the powerplay. Shreyas Iyer added 42 in the middle order before Dhir finished the job. Glenn Phillips had earlier struck an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls to lift New Zealand to 225 for four.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned to India's T20I side after a 1425-day absence. The second match of the series will be played at the same venue on Saturday.