That's that! India pick up a five-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.It did involve a little more drama than India would've liked and expected, but eventually, Pant hit the winning runs with two balls to spare, to give Rohit a winning start as India's full-time T20I captain.
India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary
Series: New Zealand tour of India, 2021 Venue: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur Date & Time: Nov 17, 07:00 PM LOCAL
The last international fixture in Jaipur was back in 2013 when India played Australia in an ODI. © AFP
India would've wanted a more comfortable victory given that they were cruising at one stage with 23 needed off 24. It came down to 10 required in the last over. Two wides from part-time bowler Daryl Mitchell let the pressure off and India off the hook. All in all, India will be happy to have gotten over the line despite having been made to work hard for the win. Onto Ranchi then for the second T20I on Friday. Hope you enjoyed the opener. Do join us then as India hope to seal the series. Goodbye!
And OUT!SKY's knocked over by Boult for 62 off 40 with India needing 21 more.
Fifty for Suryakumar!He brings it up with a six. He's batted really well today and has carried on unperturbed after even Rohit departing.
Rohit falls on 48 off 36!He won't be happy with that dismissal. He pulls a slower short ball to Rachin Ravindra at short fine leg. Wasn't the greatest of deliveries but Boult won't complain.
Half way there.Suryakumar has made a strong start to his innings. He has 22 from 18 and India have 85 after 10 overs. Now need 80 in the next 10. On this wicket, should be easy!
Leg spinner and left-arm spinner operating in tandem for New Zealand.Two bowling styles India's right-heavy top-order hasn't played well recently. Todd Astle has drawn one miscue from Rohit.
Santner strikes first ball as Rahul departs.He pulls the half-tracker from Santner straight to Chapman at deep square leg. The 50-run stand is broken.
India have made a strong startand have raced away to 50 in the fifth over. Rohit is on fire, taking on Boult with the pull.
India have done well to pull things back in the death as New Zealand finish with 164. The innings ebbed and flowed with New Zealand losing a wicket in the opening over. Mark Chapman and Guptill added 109 runs for the second wicket before a double-wicket strike. Guptill then accelerated and gave New Zealand vital runs in the middle before falling for 70 in the 18th over, resulting in two quiet final overs with just 12 coming off them. India will be happy with their finish. Will it be a straightforward chase for India, especially given that dew is expected to play its part? Or will New Zealand spring a surprise? Join us in a bit.
Guptill holes out in the deep after an excellent 70-run innings off 42 balls.A good catch from Shreyas Iyer at deep midwicket.
Dropped! Axar spills Siefert in the deep.It was a straightforward catch in the deep but it goes in and out over his head. And to make matters worse, goes for a boundary.
Fifty for Guptill - his first 50-plus score in 14 T20Is against India
Two in an over for Ashwin and India!A huge appeal from Ashwin against Philips is given out on field. Philips refers it, but he has to go. A three-ball duck for Phillips as Ashwin strikes with a double-wicket over to pull things back.
OUT! Chapman is knocked over by R Ashwin!He's deceived Chapman with his variation in pace. He falls for 63 off 50 balls.
100 up for New Zealand and the 100-run stand between the pair too
Fifty for Chapman:
It's Chapman's first fifty for New Zealand. He takes full advantage of a full toss from Axar and dispatches it over the rope for a six to cruise to a well-made half-century. It's come off 44 balls. He made a scratchy start, but he's turned it around.
NZ revive innings with 50-run stand after early wicket
At the halfway stage New Zealand are 65/1.
50 up for New Zealand and the 50-run stand for the second wicket between Guptill and Chapman.
Powerplay:
New Zealand revive their innings with a good stand between Guptill and Chapman, ending the powerplay with 41 on the board. Chapman has ha majority of the strike and has scored the majority of the runs with 27 balls faced to 6 that Guptill has.
OUT! A golden duck for Daryl Mitchell.He is knocked over first ball by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Back to business in India, he is! He got two deliveries to move away from Guptill before this one came back in.
National anthems done. Time for the first ball.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert(w), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee(c), Todd Astle, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Toss: India win toss, will bowl first.
Pitch report:
Deep Dasgupta and Ajit Agarkar with the report from the middle:A decent coverage of grass, the ball will come onto the bat and should get easier to bat as the match progresses. Chasing will be the easier option. Dew will play a big part and as such the team batting first might have to score at least 10-15 more runs than normal.
Are you over the T20 World Cup yet? Even if not, we're back in India for the first T20I between India and New Zealand just three days after the ICC T20 World Cup final. Hello and welcome to the opening T20I of the three-match series. New Zealand are playing a game just three days after contesting the T20 WC final against Australia in Dubai. They will now be playing three games in five days before the Test series commences... Ouch! India, meanwhile, following their Group Stage exit, have had a bit of downtime ahead of their home series.
There's a range of "first-times" in Jaipur today, that will hosting its first T20I. This is Rohit Sharma's first assignment as India's new full-time T20I captain, with new head coach Rahul Dravid. Both will want to get their respective innings off to a positive start.
Meanwhile, Tim Southee is leading New Zealand in Kane Williamson's absence, who is focussing on the Test series. The road towards the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia for both sides begins here and now.
In terms of team news, India have several key personnel rested for this series. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur have been rested.
For New Zealand, Lockie Ferguson is expected to make a return after being ruled out of the WC with injury. Kyle Jamieson too will join Williamson to prepare for the Test series and will not be part of the three-match series.
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