A late bowling resurgence led by Jacob Duffy secured a narrow eight-run victory for New Zealand against Sri Lanka. Duffy's three wickets in four balls changed the game as Sri Lanka, chasing 173, collapsed from 121-0 to 164-6.

Batting first, half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell (62) and Michael Bracewell (59) had helped New Zealand recover from 65-5 after nine overs to a competitive total of 172-8.

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first in the first T20I being played at Mount Maunganui. New Zealand: Tim Robinson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell,