Jaipur, Nov 18 (IANS): India held its nerve in the final over to beat New Zealand by five wickets in a thrilling first T20I, to take 1-0 lead in the three-match series at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, here on Wednesday.

Fantastic fifties by Martin Guptill (70 off 42) and Mark Chapman (63 off 50) powered New Zealand to 164-6 in 20 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/24) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/23) were the main wicket-takers for India.

In reply, Suryakumar Yadav's fine fifty (62 off 40) and Rohit Sharma's important knock (48 off 36) helped India chase the target in the last over of their innings. Rishabh Pant also chipped in with a valuable knock (17 not out off 17) for the team.

Trent Boult (2/31) was the pick of the bowler for New Zealand.

Brief scores; New Zealand: 164/6 in 20 overs (Martin Guptill 70, Mark Chapman 63; Ravichandran Ashwin (2/23) lost to India 166/5 in 19.4 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 62, Rohit Sharma 48; Trent Boult (2/31)