IND vs NZ | IPL captaincy has helped transform Shreyas Iyer into more sincere cricketer, feels KL Rahul

When KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli, who shared a 99-run stand between them for the second wicket, fell in the span of seven deliveries, there was always a sense of fear amongst the fans whether the inexperienced middle-order would fold under pressure. But the trio of Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Shivam Dube all kept a calm head and came up with vital contributions to take the team home and help them to a 1-0 series lead.

One of the major talking points prior to the match was the small nature of the grounds in New Zealand which made it easier to hit fours and sixes whilst at the same time, making life difficult for batsmen to run twos and threes. Rahul revealed that there were discussions held prior to the match on where potential scoring options were for the batsmen, how to exploit the dimensions of the ground and stated that he embraced the challenge of playing at the relatively small venue. 

"We have played enough cricket to understand which kind of shots are good at a particular ground. But it is a strange thing for me, I am playing here for the first time. But I was ready to take up the challenge," he added.

If anything, the only downside to the win today for India was their bowling performance, with every single bowler receiving a tonking from the Kiwi batsman. However, the 27-year-old is confident that the bowlers will learn from their unpleasant experience in the first game and will bounce back strong in the games to come.