IND vs NZ 1st T20I: Abhishek Sharma’s 84 Powers India to 48-Run Win in Nagpur

India won the high-scoring first match at Nagpur by 48 runs against New Zealand. After losing the toss, India batted very well, and then their bowlers worked together to stop New Zealand from chasing the target. Mitchell Santner elected to bowl with New Zealand handing a debut to Kristian Clarke after he impressed in one-day internationals. Abhishek Sharma led the onslaught with 84 in 35 deliveries, Rinku Singh in the death overs scored an unbeaten 44 in 20 balls helping the total to 238/7, Jacob Duffy bowling a fantastic spell of 2/27.

Arshdeep Singh provided a perfect start to India dismissing Devon Conway for a duck in the very first over. Hardik Pandya sharing the new ball had Rachin Ravindra caught for just 1. Tim Robinson (21 off 15) and Glenn Phillips then added 51 for the 3rd wicket - the pair was separated in the 7th over when Varun Chakaravarthy had Robinson caught at midwicket.

India Outclass New Zealand in High-Scoring Nagpur Thriller

Another big partnership followed for New Zealand as Phillips found an able partner in Mark Chapman (39 off 24). Making a comeback to the T20I XI, Phillips hit 4 fours and 6 sixes to bring up his 11th T20I half century scoring 78 off 40 balls. The partnership was broken by Axar Patel in the 14th over with the match hanging in the balance. Varun then sent Chapman packing in the next over. Daryl Mitchell (28 off 18) and skipper Santner (20* off 13) tried their best with a 46-run stand which lasted till the final over but some good bowling in the 2nd half from Indians ensured the required rate kept increasing and moved beyond control for the Kiwis.

Arshdeep Singh (1/31) was the pick of the bowlers. Varun picked up 2/37 in his 4 overs, Shivam Dube picked up 2 wickets in 2 balls off the 20th over and finished his 3 overs with 2/28. Axar Patel injured his spinning finger while fielding off his own bowling and was rushed out of the park, Abhishek Sharma completing the second half of his over. There were some fielding lapses from India with close to 3 dropped catches and a missed run out chance by Sanju Samson. Rinku Singh and Ishan Kishan were fielding in crunch positions and missed out on some easy catching chances - a department the hosts will have to strengthen in the series and ahead of the T20 World Cup.