India Beat New Zealand by 48 Runs, Take 1–0 T20I Lead
- By Thetripurapost Desk, Nagpur
- Jan 21, 2026
- 652
India made a dominant start to the T20I series against New Zealand, defeating the visitors by 48 runs in the first match at the VCA Stadium, Nagpur, to take a 1–0 lead.
Batting first, India posted a massive total of 238 runs, riding on an explosive innings from Abhishek Sharma, who top-scored with 84. Valuable contributions came from Rinku Singh (44), captain Suryakumar Yadav (32) and Hardik Pandya (25), as India maintained a high scoring rate throughout the innings.
For New Zealand, Jacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson were the most successful bowlers, picking up two wickets each, but they struggled to contain the Indian batters.
Chasing a steep target, the Kiwis were restricted to 190. Mark Chapman was the top scorer with 39, but the Indian bowlers kept regular breakthroughs to prevent any serious momentum. Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Dube claimed two wickets each, while Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel chipped in with one wicket apiece.
With this comprehensive victory, India have seized early control of the series. The second T20I will be played in Raipur on January 23.