In Auckland, the first T20I of the 2020 series began with Virat Kohli winning the toss and electing to bowl. New Zealand sent out Martin Guptill and Colin Munro to start their innings.
Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bowl, in the 1st T20i 2020 series against New Zealand in Auckland. Martin Guptill and Colin Munro walked in as the openers for the game.
The openers built a solid foundation, scoring 89 runs in 61 balls before Rohit Sharma broke the partnership by catching Guptill, followed shortly by the second wicket. New Zealand's powerhouse duo, Kane Williamson (51 off 26) and Ross Taylor (54 off 27), both notched half-centuries, helping their side reach a challenging total of 203-5.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul opened the batting for India in the first T20I. As Sharma began to play more aggressively, India suffered a setback. In the 5.1 over, KL Rahul was run out with the team at 58-1, though the fielding side had previously dropped a catch.
By the 9th over, Rahul had reached another T20I fifty, but his stay ended when Southee caught him attempting to hit a boundary. Following this, the Indian captain was dismissed for 45, and Shivam Dube added a brief 13 runs from 9 balls. Shreyas Iyer anchored the innings brilliantly, scoring 58 off 26 deliveries, while Manish Pandey chipped in with 14. India successfully chased the target, winning by 6 wickets with 7 balls to spare. The two teams are set to meet again on January 26, 2020, at the Auckland stadium.