India registered a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in their first T-20 of the three-match series at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur last night. Put into bat first, New Zealand posted a total of 164 runs for six wickets with the help of Martin Guptill’s 70 and Mark Chapman’s 63 runs. For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin scalped two wickets apiece.
In reply, the hosts overhauled the target in 19.4 overs riding on Suryakumar Yadav’s 62 and captain Rohit Sharma’s 48 runs. Yadav was adjudged player of the match.
The second T20 will be played at the JSCA Cricket Stadium in Ranchi on Friday.
The T20 series will be followed by the 2-match Test series. The tour will be an exciting one for the hosts under new coach Rahul Dravid and new captain Rohit Sharma in the T20 series.