India start Kiwi tour with a loss

Suresh Raina's fighting unbeaten 61 went in vain as world champions India began their New Zealand tour on a dismal note with the hosts thrashing them by seven wickets in the first Twenty20 match on Wednesday. Put into bat, India recovered from a mid-innings slump to post a competitive 162 for eight but that proved insufficient as the Kiwis overhauled the target with seven balls to spare.

Brendon McCullum (56 not out), Martin Guptill (41), Ross Taylor (31) and Jacob Oram (29 not out) were the notable performers for the hosts who have taken a 1-0 lead in the two match T20 series.India started off with a flourish but failed to sustain the tempo to find themselves in trouble at 61 for five by the eighth over. Some lusty hitting by Raina and Harbhajan Singh (21) at the end provided some respectability to the total.

Raina and Harbhajan Singh stitched 61 runs for the eighth wicket, the highest partnership in the innings. Teen sensation Ishant Sharma struck in the first ball of his first over, trapping left-handed Jesse Ryder (1) to give India the kind of start they needed.