India and New Zealand played out a thrilling match in Hyderabad on Wednesday with the hosts ending up winning the first ODI by 12 runs in a high-scoring game at the Rajiv gandhi International Stadium.
Chasing a mammoth 348 for victory, the Kiwis made a fist of the chase thanks to all-rounder Michael Bracewell's 78-ball 140 which nearly took the game away from India.
New Zealand were in big trouble at 131 for 6 in 28.4 overs when Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner joined forces and bailed the team out of troubled waters.
Their 162-runs stand off 102 balls actually turned the tide in New Zealand's favour as they brought the equation down to just 59 from 30 balls by the 45th over.
But Mohammed Siraj changed the complexion of the match in a matter of two balls as he first sent back Santner for 57 and then got rid of Dom Shipley for a golden duck to bring India back into the contest.
Bracewell Fireworks in Hyderabad
Bracewell continued to smash the bowlers from the other end and refused to give up even though wickets kept tumbling around him. He brought the equation down to 13 from 5 balls after hitting a six off Shardul Thakur off the first ball of the final over.
But Thakur hit back and had his revenge as he trapped Bracwell plumb in front with his second delivery to finish the contest and win the match for India.
Siraj finished with yet another four-wicket haul while Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav bagged a couple each. Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya proved to be expensive but did manage to pick a wicket each.
Shubman Gill's Record-Breaking 208
Earlier, Shubman Gill's maiden double hundred powered India to 349 for 8 after Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first.
Gill batted for 149 balls for his 208, hitting 19 fours and 9 sixes. He became the fifth Indian to score a double hundred in ODIs after Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan.
23-year-old Gill is the youngest to achieve the feat and also became the fastest Indian to complete 1,000 ODI runs during his whirlwind knock.
