The last time India and New Zealand met, in the World Cup semi-final last year, Martin Guptill pulled off a memorable direct hit to run MS Dhoni out and seal India's fate, reports ESPN.
Six months on, in the T20I series opener against India at Eden Park, he pulled off a similarly memorable diving catch at deep midwicket to dismiss a well-set Virat Kohli for a 32-ball 45 in a chase of 204. On the night, though, it wasn't enough as Shreyas Iyer finished the chase off in uber-cool fashion, with an over to spare, and put India 1-0 ahead in the five-match T20I series.
When Iyer had joined Manish Pandey, who had been picked ahead of a fit-again Rishabh Pant, India still needed 62 off 40 balls. Iyer took charge, making 48 in the unbroken stand with Pandey, and pressed on to a 26-ball half-century, thrilling the sea of blue in the stands.
After New Zealand had been asked to bat earlier in the evening, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor reeled off quicker fifties - off 25 balls each - and Colin Munro hit a relatively sedate half-century. When India batted, KL Rahul cracked a 27-ball 56 and Kohli almost got to the mark too, but it was Iyer's contribution that proved decisive in a match that produced an aggregate of 407 for 9.
Munro thrives on width and if he's denied that he struggles to put the ball away. Most teams have figured that out and try to cramp him for room. India followed a similar template against the left-handed opener on Friday and in addition to attacking his body, they routinely took pace off the ball and challenged him to clear the longish leg-side boundaries. After awkwardly dealing with a surfeit of short balls, Munro flitted around the crease, manufactured room for himself, and messed with the lines and lengths of India's attack. In the process, he opened up gaps on the off side and scored 23 of his 59 runs in the arc between third man and mid-off.
