Rishabh Pant in the company of Dhoni guided India to their maiden maiden T20 International victory on New Zealand soil here Friday. The seven-wicket triumph was set up by skipper Rohit Sharma (50 off 29 balls) in company of Shikhar Dhawan (30, 31 balls) with a 79-run stand after Krunal Pandya got three wickets to restrict the hosts to 158/8. Rohit also became the top run-getter in the format, surpassing Martin Guptill.
Very pleased to see how we bowled, and we were quite clinical with the bat as well, Rohit said in the post-match presentation. Dhoni, the original master finisher, couldn't have been happier as he saw Pant control what could have been a tricky 159-run chase chase with an unbeaten 40 off 28 balls. The series is now tied 1-1 with the decider in Hamilton on Sunday. With the former India captain (20 no off 17 balls) playing the role of a mentor at the other end, the 44-run stand was very significant as Indian cricket slowly moves towards a change of guard in coming days.
