Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], January 21 : A blistering knock by opener Abhishek Sharma and valuable contributions from Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh and captain Suryakumar Yadav helped Team India to post a daunting 238/7 runs in 20 overs against New Zealand in the first T20I of the five-match series on Wednesday.
After being asked to bat first, Team India were off to a poor start as they lost their opener, Sanju Samson, during the fifth ball of the second over. Speedster Kyle Jamieson dismissed Samson for 10 runs off seven balls, including two fours.
In the very next over, Ishan Kishan was removed by speedster Jacob Duffy. Kishan made eight runs off five balls along with two fours.
India reached 38/2 after the end of four overs. However, opener Abhishek Sharma and captain Suryakumar Yadav began playing attacking cricket as the Men in Blue reached 68/2 after six overs.
During the fourth ball of the eighth over, Abhishek slammed his seventh T20I fifty. The left-handed batter reached the milestone in just 22 deliveries.
Twenty-two ball fifty by Abhishek Sharma is also the quickest fifty in terms of balls faced for India against New Zealand in T20Is. The previous fastest was 23 balls each by KL Rahul (Auckland, 2020) & Rohit Sharma (Hamilton, 2020). After the end of the 10th over, India made 117/2.
Captain Mitchell Santner finally broke the 99-run stand for the third-wicket after he removed Suryakumar during the fourth ball of the 11th over. The Indian captain made 32 off 22 deliveries, including four boundaries and one six.
During the last ball of the 12th over, Ish Sodhi dismissed dangerous Abhishek Sharma for 84 runs (35 balls, five fours and eight sixes). With his blistering knock, the left-handed batter crossed the 5000-run landmark in T20 cricket. After the end of the 13th over, India made 154/4.
Sharma also became the fastest batter to score 5000 runs in T20 cricket in terms of balls. Sharma reached the landmark in 2988 deliveries, whereas West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell reached it in 2942 balls.
In the very next over, Kyle Jamieson removed all-rounder Shivam Dube after the speedster took a simple caught and bowled. Dube scored just nine runs. After the end of the 15th over, India were in a commanding position, reaching 182/5.
During the fourth ball of the 16th over, Jacob Duffy dismissed dangerous Hardik Pandya for 25 runs off 16 deliveries, including three fours and one six.
Towards the end, left-handed batter Rinku slammed an unbeaten 44 off 20 deliveries, including four boundaries and three sixes as India made 238/7 in 20 overs. With the ball, speedster Jacob Duffy (2/27) had good figures for New Zealand.
Brief scores: India 238/7 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 84, Rinku Singh 44*; Jacob Duffy 2/27) vs New Zealand.