It was Team India who started the campaign with a win in the first T20I against New Zealand thanks to some quality finishing by Shreyas Iyer towards the last half hour.
Batting first the Kiwis compiled a challenging target of 204. Half-centuries by Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor was enough for the hosts to breach the 200 region mark. Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal were the standouts with the ball in hand for India as they conceded just over 30 runs from four overs while bagging a wicket each.
In reply to New Zealand, the Men in Blue lost an early wicket as Rohit Sharma was dismissed for seven by Mitchell Santner. However, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli continued their dominant run with the bat as breezed past a hundred run stand. KL Rahul scored yet another fifty, while Virat Kohli was dismissed just five runs short of his century.
But just when KL Rahul and Kohli were dismissed in quick succession, Shreyas Iyer took the onus of leading Team India past the finishing line. The Delhi Capitals skipper walked in when the scored was 121 for 3 in 11 overs and remained unbeaten till the end.
Iyer’s innings was scintillating, to say the least as he scored a quickfire 58 of 29 deliveries with five boundaries and three sixes under his belt.
Shreyas Iyer batted with a strike rate of 200 and got decent support from Shivam Dube followed by Manish Pandey as the visitors cruised to victory with an over to spare. Iyer was named the player of the match and was hailed on social media for his presence in the middle order which is now coming to notice by all.
With Team India now leading the T20I series by 1-0, the second game becomes all the more important for the Kane Williamson and company. The second T20I will take place at Seddon Park on Sunday, 12:30 PM (IST).
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