India vs New Zealand Live 1st T20I: Shreyas Iyer elects to bowl first; Mayank Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy return

India vs New Zealand Live Score 1st T20I: Follow live score and updates of the series opener from Christchurch.

India vs New Zealand Live 1st T20I: Follow Live Score and Updates. (BCCI Images)

India vs New Zealand Live Score 1st T20I: India skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl first against New Zealand in Christchurch. The visitors made two changes from their last match and included Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the XI while benching Prince Yadav and Shivam Dube. After underwhelming tours of Ireland and England, Iyer will look to make a strong statement as captain in testing overseas conditions. India have plenty of firepower in Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma, but their bowling will be under scrutiny in the absence of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. The return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar after nearly four years and the inclusion of Varun Chakravarthy offer a boost, though questions remain over the attack's balance. With barely two days to acclimatise, India will need to adapt quickly against Mitchell Santner's side and its pace-heavy bowling attack.

Follow all the updates here:

• 22 Oct 2026, 12:13:01 PM IST

  Check New Zealand's Playing XI!

  New Zealand Playing XI: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert(w), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson.

• 22 Oct 2026, 12:12:33 PM IST

  Check India's Playing XI!

  India Playing XI: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav.

• 22 Oct 2026, 12:02:42 PM IST

  Iyer opts to bowl first!

  India skipper Shreyas Iyer wins the toss and decides to bowl first in the series opener in Christchurch.

• 22 Oct 2026, 11:35:25 AM IST

  Ishan Kishan set to overtake Suryakumar Yadav!

  Ishan Kishan is on the verge of scripting history with the bat. He has scored 1,158 runs in 34 T20I innings this year at an average of 37.35 and a strike rate of 172.06, including a century and seven fifties. He needs just seven more runs to surpass Suryakumar Yadav’s record of 1,164 T20I runs by an Indian in a calendar year, set in 2022. Kishan is also 139 runs away from breaking Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan’s world record of 1,326 T20I runs in a calendar year, achieved in 2021.

• 22 Oct 2026, 11:24:01 AM IST

  Varun Chakaravarthy likely to sit out!

  India could opt for three frontline seamers in the series opener, with Prince Yadav joining Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the pace attack and Nitish Kumar Reddy providing an additional fast-bowling option as an all-rounder. Varun Chakaravarthy, meanwhile, returns after another injury-enforced spell on the sidelines. However, finding a place for the mystery spinner in the playing XI could prove difficult if India decide to strengthen their pace attack for the opener.

• 22 Oct 2026, 11:14:44 AM IST

  Bhuvi returns after four years!

  Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes his return to India's T20I setup after nearly four years, bringing his experience and ability to swing the ball with the new ball. His comeback adds depth to the pace attack which lacked variety in the past couple of series.

• 22 Oct 2026, 11:00:17 AM IST

  Check India's Probable Playing XI!

  India's Probable XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh

• 22 Oct 2026, 10:33:02 AM IST

  India vs New Zealand Live Score 1st T20I: Hello and welcome!

  Hello and welcome to our live blog of the first T20I of the five-match series between India and New Zealand. Christchurch's Hagley Oval plays host to the series opener.

  I'm Aditya Maheshwari, and I'll be bringing you all the action over the next 5 hours.

  India face a long stretch in New Zealand, with the T20Is, ODIs and Tests spanning 41 days. But for now, let's stick to the T20Is. India last toured New Zealand in 2022, shortly after the T20 World Cup in Australia. A lot has changed since then. New players have emerged, while much of the old guard has faded away.

  New Zealand are never easy to beat at home, and it will be interesting to see whether Shreyas Iyer's young team can rise to the challenge.