India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets in first T20I at Christchurch to lead series 1-0

India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the first of a three-match T20 series at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, taking a 1-0 lead. The Indian team began its New Zealand tour today. New Zealand batted first and set India a target of 226. The match was a close one.

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened India's chase. Abhishek gave a quick start with 29 off 12 balls before getting out. Samson stayed at the crease and played an innings of 69 that included a fine half-century.

Tilak Varma, who came in next, could make only 6. Ishan Kishan failed in the first match, getting out for 1. Shreyas Iyer and Naman Dhir then took India to the last over. Iyer was out for 42.

India needed 8 runs in the last over. Naman Dhir's innings made the win possible, as he scored 42 off 15 balls.

New Zealand's bowlers also bowled well. Michael Bracewell took two important wickets and put India in difficulty for a while. Nathan Smith took one wicket and Lockie Ferguson also took one. For New Zealand, Glenn Phillips had played an aggressive innings.

India's playing eleven was Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Yadav and Arshdeep Singh.

New Zealand's side included Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson.