Nov 18, Kathmandu- T20 World Cup runners-up New Zealand suffered a second defeat in four days in the format as India edged to victory with two balls to spare in Rahul Dravid's first game as head coach.

New Zealand tumbled to an eight-wicket loss to Australia in Sunday's World Cup final in Dubai and went down to India by five wickets in Jaipur on Wednesday, albeit that this result was a lot closer.

India appeared to be cruising to their victory target of 165 as captain Rohit Sharma (48 off 36) and Suryakamar Yadav (62 off 40) reduced the requirement to 23 from 24 balls in the first game of the three-match series.

However, three boundary-less overs, which included the dismissals of Suryakumar and Shreyas Iyer (5), dragged New Zealand back into the match and left India needing 10 from Daryl Mitchell's final six deliveries

Debutant Venkatesh Iyer (4 off 2) pulled the first legal ball he faced for four, before being caught on the reverse sweep next delivery and then, after a wide and a single and with three needed from three balls, Rishabh Pant (17no off 17) lofted the match-winning boundary over mid-off.

Pant's four ensured a winning start for Dravid who has succeeded Ravi Shastri as coach, and his team can now wrap up a series victory with a game to spare in Ranchi on Friday.

India's win in Jaipur came two and a half weeks after they fell to an eight-wicket thrashing to New Zealand in the T20 World Cup, a result which ultimately proved a hammer blow to their semi-final hopes.