NZ VS IND - 1st T20I, India tour of New Zealand, 2019

Right, off to Auckland now where hopefully a contest awaits. It's been that kind of a tour, you win, you win big. For now, this is Vineet Anantharaman signing off on behalf of Rishi Roy, Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Hariprasad Sadanandan and Shashikant Singh. Until India get their NZ-T20I act right, or perhaps the Kiwis add another feather, ta ta!!

Kane Williamson | Winning skipper: Fantastic performance all around, everyone rose and it was one of those complete performances that you search for. But it has finished now, we move on in a day's time and we have another game. The top-order were superb and we built partnerships that helped us. Seifert, Munro were outstanding. We know it will be different in a couple of days time and we need to learn from our bits and pieces and move on. Some really good experiences for the boys, some of the short contributions are of great importance. Daryll bowled really well and played a good cameo down the order. We had the runs on the board, but the bowling and fielding too was of high standard. A complete performance that doesn't happen everyday and hope we can keep the momentum through the series having set the tone. The White Ferns game was a fantastic one, it ebbed and flowed all through. We have copied each other through the series and hopefully they can beat them in the next game and we'll carry it forward.

Rohit Sharma | Losing skipper: It was a tough game. We were outplayed in all three departments. We didn't start well and we knew that 200 wasn't going to be an easy chase although the grounds are small here. But we kept losing wickets and that threw us off. We have chased such targets in the past and that is why we played with eight batsmen, but we didn't have small partnerships and that made it tough while chasing such a big target. But New Zealand though played well, they had partnerships that allowed them to get such a big score. We need to go to Auckland, assess the conditions and take it forward. As a team, we have been good at chasing down targets which is why we play with eight batsmen. We believe that whatever the target is in front of us we can chase it down, but we just couldn't do it tonight.

Tim Seifert | Man of the Match: It was a great way to start the series and the boys are really happy. It feels great to go up the order, look at the first two overs and then go from there and put pressure on the bowlers. I have been selected for a reason and it feels nice to have backed my ability.

Rohit's run of seven successive wins as captain comes to an end - joint most for India alongside MS Dhoni (twice)

23:18 Local Time | 15:48 IST: Well this was no contest. And if it ever looked like turning into one in the distance, the Kiwis were quick to turn the seeming-mirage into a joke. Everything, right through the day, went right - getting to bat first on a certified belter, thanks to some generosity from the Indians, to Munro finally finding his bat's middle to Seifert cutting loose to send the Indians on a leather hunt, to the Indian chase falling flat inside the first half. Everything. Williamson too didn't let the momentum slip in the middle overs with the bat, before de Grandhomme and Taylor helped with the final flourish. Rohit, though, despite the carnage that was going around, seemed reluctant to try out a sixth bowling option for some reason. The chase then never kicked off, losing wickets all through, regularly. Here they are, talking, explaining ..

STAT: Biggest defeats for India in T20Is (by runs):
80 vs NZ, Wellington, 2019
49 vs Aus, Bridgetown, 2010
47 vs NZ, Nagpur, 2016
40 vs NZ, Rajkot, 2017

MS Dhoni top-scoring for India in T20Is:
48* v Aus, Sydney, 2012 (Lost by 31 runs)
38 v Eng, Mumbai WS, 2012 (Lost by six wickets)
30 v NZ, Nagpur, 2016 (Lost by 47 runs)
36*v Eng, Kanpur, 2017 (Lost by seven wickets)
39 v NZ, W'ton, 2019 (Lost by 80 runs)

Daryl Mitchell to Chahal, out Bowled!! The typical tail-ending medicine - full, straight, bang on middle. Chahal makes some room, staying beside the line, wafts, misses and the lights light up behind to signal India's worst T20I defeat in terms of the number of runs. It's been that kind of a day, clinically consistently good/bad depending on which side you're seeing it from. Chahal b Daryl Mitchell 1(3)

Daryl Mitchell to Chahal, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Daryl Mitchell to Khaleel Ahmed, 1 run, full on middle. A lame toe-end down to long-on. Umm, it was also meant to be a free-hit

Most wickets vs India in T20Is:
- 11 Umar Gul
- 10 S Watson/ D Chameera/ Ish Sodhi

Daryl Mitchell to Chahal, no ball, 1 run, high full toss, outside off though as Chahal stabs through sweeper

Daryl Mitchell [2.0-0-10-0] is back into the attack

K Khaleel Ahmed, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Southee to Dhoni, out Caught by Ferguson!! The bouncer it is to end yet another batsman's vigil - bumped in quick, angling in well. Dhoni in fact seemed ready for it, pulled quite off the middle too, but picks out deep square leg. Dhoni c Ferguson b Southee 39(31) [4s-5 6s-1]

Southee to Dhoni, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Southee to Dhoni, no run, foxes him with the off-cutter. Well-disguised, outside off and Dhoni is a week early in whatever he's trying

Southee to Dhoni, FOUR, [u bang in the slot. And MS with a very measured backlift and a smaller followthrough hammers it over Southee, straight down

Southee to Dhoni, no run, unwinds for a big hoick across the line. Misses, but luckily ends up inside-edging it onto his pad