Spain vs Croatia, 2nd T20I LIVE Streaming: When and where to watch IND vs NZ in Auckland Match LIVE Telecast Online .Spain vs Croatia Live Streaming: Here's everything you need to know about the coverage of the second T20I between India and New Zealand.
Shreyas Iyer's blazing fifty took India to their maiden victory in the five-match series against New Zealand at Auckland. His 29-ball 58 was crucial, in the end, as India required 60 odd runs in the last five overs or so, with two wickets of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli falling in quick succession. Thanks to the win, India have taken a 1-0 lead in the series, with the second match to be played at the same ground on 26 January.
"It's really amazing coming from overseas after a little home tour," Iyer said. "It's a great feeling to win the game and be not out, especially.
"We had lost two quick wickets in succession and it was really important for us to build a partnership at that point of the game because we knew the boundaries are a little bit short and we could cover the run-rate any time. That's what we had communicated in the team and fortunately it worked out."
New Zealand set India's star-studded batting line-up a testing chase after losing the toss.
Colin Munro (59), Kane Williamson (51) and Ross Taylor (54 not out) made half-centuries as New Zealand scored at a consistently high rate throughout their innings to surpass 200.
Munro and Martin Guptill (30) put on 80 for the first wicket in only 7.5 overs. New Zealand lost two quick wickets but Williamson restored momentum in a mid-innings stand of 71 with Taylor, then the veteran Taylor finished off a strong batting performance with his first T20 half-century in six years.
"We always know coming to Eden Park, it's not easy to defend," Williamson said. "They certainly showed their class in chasing down that total.
"We knew batting first we were going to have to get a good score on the board and we were able to do that, but with the ball in hand we need a few wickets early to get ahead of the game."
Black Caps will be aiming to work on their shortfalls and make it 1-1 in the series in the second T20I.
New Zealand actually had a fairly decent game with the ball - their plans were good, execution not always but spot on but more on than off - but they still lost comfortably to India in the series opener. This tells you two things: when India are chasing, you need to put on an above-par score, and Jasprit Bumrah always stands in the way of such an endeavour. In an innings that New Zealand kept nudging at 10 an over, looking for a final kick to push them past 220, Bumrah conceded just 16 runs in overs 18 and 20, three overthrows included.
New Zealand can match India's accomplished batting line-up over 20 overs with power and innovation, but it is in the bowling that India continue to be a superior side. In the second of the double-header at Eden Park, the hosts will have to find a way to hurt India's bowling to give their bowlers a chance. Expect Shivam Dube and Yuzvendra Chahal to be put under more pressure and not be allowed to go at eight an over on such a small ground.
India's batting remains good as gold in chases, but if they lose the toss, their newfound intent - and they have shown it when batting first against West Indies and Australia in both T20Is and ODIs recently - will be tested when setting a target on the small ground.
India team players: 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 team players: 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.