13:16
Axar Patel continues, and Finn Allen welcomes him with a massive six straight down the ground. Allen then makes room to chip the ball towards long-off for a single. He wants a second run but has to settle for one. Daryl Mitchell follows with a wristy shot through mid-on for another single.
Axar strikes on the next delivery! Finn Allen goes for another big hit but fails to get hold of it. Tilak Varma settles under the mistimed shot and takes the catch. The dangerous Allen departs for a quickfire 45 off 24 balls, giving India a crucial breakthrough.
Glenn Phillips is the new batter.
Glenn Phillips stays back and stabs the ball towards midwicket before nudging the next delivery into the covers for a single to get off the mark.
Nine runs and a wicket come off the over as New Zealand reach 81/2 after eight overs.
13:14
Axar Patel comes into the attack, and Finn Allen welcomes him with a maximum. Allen then backs away and cuts the ball for three runs before Daryl Mitchell gets off the mark with a six of his own.
A single off the final delivery takes New Zealand to 65/1 at the end of the powerplay, with 16 runs coming off the over.
Mayank Yadav continues, and Mitchell collects a single before Allen drills one back down the ground, only for the ball to hit the stumps at the non-striker's end. A wide follows, and Allen responds with a boundary. He fails to connect with a scoop attempt before pulling the next delivery for a single. Mitchell finds Axar at backward point to end the over with a dot ball.
Seven runs come off it as New Zealand reach 72/1 after seven overs.
13:02
Arshdeep Singh continues, but Finn Allen takes him on, smashing three consecutive boundaries to put India under pressure. Allen adds a single before Tim Seifert collects another four, making it a 17-run over for the second time in a row.
New Zealand race to 46 without loss after four overs.
Mayank Yadav comes into the attack and strikes in his first over! After conceding a couple of runs and a single to Allen, Mayank keeps Seifert quiet with two deliveries before the opener attempts a slash and edges it behind. Sanju Samson takes a safe catch, ending Seifert's innings at 24 off 17 balls.
Just three runs and a wicket come off the over as New Zealand reach 49/1 after five overs.
12:51
Arshdeep Singh comes on from the other end, with a slip in place, as he plays his 100th T20I. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert rotate the strike with singles before Allen beats the diving fielder to his right to smash the first boundary of the match. He adds another single, while Seifert picks up one before a dot ball ends the over.
New Zealand reach 12 without loss after two overs, with eight coming off Arshdeep's first.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar continues, and Seifert initially defends before the bowler oversteps to concede a no-ball. Seifert swings and misses, with Sanju Samson taking the ball behind the stumps.
The opener finally gets a boundary off Bhuvneshwar after being troubled by the veteran pacer early on. He follows it with another four, making room to slap the ball past mid-off, before both batters rotate the strike. Seifert then launches a massive six to cap a productive over.
17 runs come off it, taking New Zealand to 29 without loss after three overs.
12:41
Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens the attack for India, with Tim Seifert and Finn Allen at the crease. Seifert is beaten by some early swing before getting off the mark with a single towards mid-off.
A direct hit from Axar Patel at the keeper's end leads to a run-out review, but Seifert is safe after a dive. Allen gets off the mark with a single towards point, before Seifert picks up a couple off the final delivery.
Four runs come off the opening over.
12:15
Shreyas Iyer and Mitchell Santner at the toss
India captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed two changes, with Nitish Kumar Reddy replacing Shivam Dube and Mayank Yadav coming in for Prince Yadav.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said his side would have bowled first as well, adding that the fresh pitch looked good for batting.
"We've got a couple of guys missing, but I think the depth we have at the moment is really, really good," Santner said.
New Zealand are without Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson and Devon Conway, but will field four seamers, similar to India.
Here are the playing XIs
India: 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
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert(w), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
12:00
Captain Shreyas Iyer with Coach Gautam Gambhir.
India face a fresh challenge in Christchurch on Wednesday, with little time to recover from a packed schedule at home and adapt to New Zealand conditions.
Just four days after their rain-hit T20I series against the West Indies ended in Bengaluru, Shreyas Iyer's side must quickly switch gears for a demanding tour.
The Asian Games in Japan concluded on October 3, followed by five T20Is against the West Indies across India. Now, Shreyas Iyer's side must quickly adapt to unfamiliar conditions, with travel fatigue adding to the challenge.
New Zealand tours are never straightforward, and early-season conditions could test India's batters and bowlers. The last 200-plus T20I total in New Zealand came nine matches ago, underlining the difference from the high-scoring contests India have been involved in at home.
India last faced New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad in March, when they piled up 255. Much has changed since, with Iyer taking over the captaincy and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi still looking to cement his place after his international debut.
India's bowling attack also has a familiar face in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, recalled after impressive IPL performances.
However, Jasprit Bumrah has been rested with the Test series in mind, while Hardik Pandya remains unavailable for international duty.
