After the Black Caps' 198/3 dress rehearsal, it was the Abhishek Sharma Show. The opener absolutely teed off in the chase, carding a blistering 113 off just 38 balls to almost single-handedly win the match for the visitors.
Chief destroyer Sharma and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took India to a T20I record 118 for no loss in the Power Play, then 133 off 7.1 overs when Sooryavanshi (45 from 19) departed.
Sharma recorded a 15-ball 50 and would then go on to reach his fourth T20I century in just 35 balls. It didn't matter where the New Zealand bowlers landed the ball, Sharma was calling all pockets. No less than 11 sixes came off his blade.
The talent finally perished after miscuing one into the Wellington night, but the damage had already been done. The Black Caps scooped two more consolation wickets, but Naman Dhir would hit the winning runs in just the 14th over to end the slaughter.
Earlier, opener Tim Seifert felt the pinch of several dot balls and decided to take on Arshdeep Singh in the second over, only to slice one into the night sky and get caught.
However, at the other end, Finn Allen was only dealing in sixes. He bashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar over the mid-wicket fence twice in one over, then sent a delivery from Prince Yadav well over the square-leg boundary. Allen added two more off Axar Patel, then finally fell for a swashbuckling 40 from 25 when he shanked Nitish Kumar Reddy to the fielder at long-on. Live by the sword, die by the sword, as they say.
But thankfully for the Black Caps, Daryl Mitchell was also teeing off at the other end. He brought up his 50 in 26 balls with a thumping six over wide long-on. He was joined briefly by the destructive Glenn Phillips (17), but India were happy to see the back of him when Patel pouched a neat catch off his own bowling.
Mitchell continued on his merry way and was supported adequately by Bevon Jacobs. The pair put on an unbeaten 75 from 48 to take them to 198/3.
India top-order batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the second T20I in New Zealand due to a groin strain, with teenage star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi poised to return to the starting XI.
India earned their highest-ever T20I run chase when they successfully chalked off New Zealand's 225/4 with four wickets remaining in a run-soaked encounter in Christchurch on Thursday night.
Darren Sammy believes West Indies have taken a significant step forward after holding India to a 2-2 T20I series draw, with the head coach encouraged by the return of his team's confidence and trademark swagger.
Less than eight overs were bowled in the fifth and final T20I between India and West Indies as heavy rain fell in Bengaluru.
