Rohit Sharma led by example as India started a new era with a five-wicket win over New Zealand in Jaipur on Wednesday.
Three days after losing to Australia by eight wickets in the T20 World Cup final, the Black Caps went down in the first match of the three-game series.
With captain Kane Williamson missing the T20 series to prepare for the Tests, Tim Southee stepped up to lead New Zealand, though it was his counterpart Rohit – taking charge of India in the shortest format for this series after Virat Kohli stepped down – who came out on top.
It went down to the wire, with Martin Guptill (70 from 42 balls) and Mark Chapman (63 off 50), who hit his first T20 half-century for the Black Caps, leading New Zealand to 164-6, with Ravichandran Ashwin taking 2-23 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-24.
Rohit's brilliant 48 and an outstanding 62 off 40 balls from Suryakumar Yadav put India into a strong position in the chase, and with five overs remaining the result looked to be sewn up.
Yet Suryakumar's dismissal at the hands of Trent Boult saw some nerves set in for India, with Shreyas Iyer (five) and debutant Venkatesh Iyer (four) falling in a cagey finish.
Ultimately, Rohit and new coach Rahul Dravid got the win they craved with just two balls to spare when Rishabh Pant (17 not out) sliced a shot over mid-off and to the boundary.
Rohit up and running
Replacing Kohli as skipper is not an easy task, but Rohit showed his usual proficiency with the bat as he knocked off 48 from 36 deliveries, including five boundaries and two sixes.
What might have been for Boult
Boult had figures of 2-31, with 21 of those runs coming from his second over. To further compound his frustration, the paceman dropped Suryakumar on 61, not only failing to take what should have been a relatively simple catch, but also seeing the ball go to the boundary to boot.
He did at least end Suryakumar's stint at the crease in the next over, though those runs proved costly.
West Brom 0-0 Southampton: Hawthorns draw sets up intriguing second leg
West Brom and Southampton played out a goalless draw at the Hawthorns on Sunday in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
Both teams had plenty of chances, but a combination of poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from the Saints' Alex McCarthy and the Baggies' Alex Palmer ensured the tie remains finely poised for the return leg at St Mary's Stadium on Friday.
Roared on by a loud Hawthorns, the hosts started well but were unable to capitalise, and it was Southampton who went closest in the first half as Kyle Walker-Peters smashed a deflected effort wide, while Palmer kept out Flynn Downes' shot.
West Brom rallied, though, and had a golden opportunity to take the lead with 33 minutes on the clock as Grady Diangana nodded Tom Fellows' cross goalwards, only for McCarthy to get across and make a brilliant stop.
The tempo slowed somewhat after the interval, but the game burst into life again with just over 10 minutes to play, as McCarthy denied Diangana before substitute Ross Stewart lashed goalwards up the other end, only to see his shot somehow kept out by the wrong-footed Palmer.
Both sides pressed for a precious goal late on, but neither could break the deadlock and it remains all to play for at St Mary's to see who will face either Leeds United or Norwich City at Wembley on May 26.
Data debrief
There was certainly attacking endeavour on display at the Hawthorns, but neither side could find the back of the net despite the teams combining for 1.76 xG (expected goals), split 1.03 for Southampton and 0.73 for the hosts.
With Norwich and Leeds drawing 0-0 in their first leg earlier on Sunday, it is the first time since 2011 that the first leg of both Championship play-off semi-finals have ended goalless.
West Brom 0-0 Southampton: Hawthorns stalemate sets up intriguing second-leg
West Brom and Southampton played out a 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns on Sunday in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
Both teams had plenty of chances, but a combination of poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from the Saints' Alex McCarthy and the Baggies' Alex Palmer ensured the tie remains finely poised for the return leg at St Mary's Stadium on Friday.
Roared on by a loud Hawthorns, the hosts started well but were unable to capitalise, and it was Southampton who went closest in the first half an hour after weathering the early storm as Kyle Walker-Peters smashed a deflected effort wide, while Palmer kept out Flynn Downes' shot.
West Brom rallied, though, and had a golden opportunity to take the lead with 33 minutes on the clock as Grady Diangana nodded Tom Fellows' cross goalwards, only for McCarthy to get across and make a brilliant stop.
The tempo slowed somewhat after the interval, but the game burst into life again with just over 10 minutes to play, as McCarthy denied Diangana before substitute Ross Stewart lashed goalwards up the other end, only to see his shot somehow kept out by the wrong-footed Palmer.
Both sides pressed for a precious goal late on, but neither could break the deadlock and it remains all to play for at St Mary's on Friday to see who will face either Leeds United or Norwich City at Wembley on May 26 in the Championship play-off final.
Data debrief
There was certainly attacking endeavour on display at the Hawthorns, but neither side could find the back of the net despite the teams combining for 1.76 xG (expected goals), split 1.03 for Southampton and 0.73 for the hosts.
With Norwich and Leeds drawing 0-0 in their first leg earlier on Sunday, it is the first time since 2011 that the first leg of both Championship play-off semi-finals have ended goalless.
IPL: Gaikwad helps CSK strengthen playoff hopes with victory over Royals
The Chennai Super Kings boosted their Indian Premier League playoff chances as captain Ruturaj Gaikwad top-scored to clinch a five-wicket victory against the Rajasthan Royals.
Off the back of two defeats in their last three outings, the Super Kings needed a victory, and an impressive bowling display allowed them to easily chase down the Royals' total with 10 balls to spare on Sunday.
After the Royals won the toss and opted to bat first, openers Jos Buttler and Yashavi Jaiswal got Rajasthan off to a solid start before the latter was dismissed in the seventh over with 43 runs on the board.
Buttler lost his wicket less than two overs later, and though Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag somewhat steadied the ship, Chennai's bowlers continued to make runs difficult to come by.
Parag top-scored for Rajasthan as he finished unbeaten on 47, but the Royals could only muster 141-5 from their 20-over allocation.
Chennai overcame the loss of opener Rachin Ravindra in the fourth over to set themselves up for victory, despite all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja being dismissed for obstructing the field having added just five runs.
Captain Gaikwad guided his team over the line, finishing with 42 not out from 41 deliveries as Chennai wrapped up the win without needing MS Dhoni, who could have played his last IPL game at Chepauk.
The victory leaves Chennai third with one game remaining against Royal Challengers Bangalore, while Rajasthan miss the chance to go level on points with IPL leaders Kolkata Knight Riders, though their playoff place should still be safe with a four-point gap between them and the fifth-placed Delhi Capitals, who face RCB later on Sunday.
Data debrief: Chennai bowlers shine
The Super Kings had previously come out on the wrong end of the result in their last four meetings with the Royals, but a strong performance from their bowlers allowed them to end that losing streak.
Simarjeet Singh was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 3-26, while Tushar Deshpande (2-30) also impressed. While Jadeja did not get a wicket, his four overs only amounted to 24 Rajasthan runs.
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