India vs New Zealand 1st T20I Live Updates: Iyer completes the job, finishing unbeaten on 58 and positions himself as a middle-order mainstay for the Men in Blue in the limited-overs formats with two sixes and a four, including the winning hit over deep midwicket off the last ball of the over that completes an emphatic six-wicket win with an over to spare for the visitors to go 1-0 up in the five T20I series.
Preview: After an impressive comeback ODI series win over Australia, India face the challenge of a long New Zealand tour which kicks off with the T20I series in Auckland.
It's the first time India will play a five-match T20I series and it will be a different challenge. However, their first aim will be to improve their record against the Kiwis. They have won just three and lost eight of the 11 T20Is they have played. The last time they toured New Zealand, at the start of 2019, they won the ODI series 4-1 but lost the T20I series 1-2.
Kohli has spoken of having intensity right from the word go and that's what they would be looking to do, get a positive start with a win in Auckland. The Indian top-order which has been in breathtaking form will be the key and they would look to take advantage of a relatively weakened Kiwi bowling attack that is without Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry who are all out injured.
It will be a challenge for the Indian bowlers as well, adapting to the small grounds in the country. However, they will be buoyed by the performance of the pacers in home T20s where they outperformed the spinners. It will be another challenge for the likes of Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, and Shivam Dube but an opportunity as well to take one step forward in locking their places in their side. Bumrah, who looked rusty against Australia, will be looking to get into the groove as soon as possible while Mohammed Shami will look to carry forward the momentum from the Australia series.
Kohli has confirmed that KL Rahul will keep wickets and this heats up the competition between Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson for the middle-order spot.
The Kiwis, on the other hand, would be looking to bounce back after a 0-3 hammering at the hands of Australia in Tests.
India start off as slight favourites as they look to continue their winning juggernaut.
India squad: Rohit Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Bruce, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Hamish Bennett, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner.
