Brendon McCullum anchored the run chase to give the Black Caps first blood against the touring Indian cricketers in last night's Twenty20 international in Christchurch.
McCullum was still there on 56 and Jacob Oram was unbeaten on 29 having hit the winng six as New Zealand reached their target of 162 with seven wickets and seven balls to spare.
Earlier Martin Gupthill made a quickfire 41 and Ross Taylor 31.
India had made a rollicking start to the match with Virender Sehwag smacking his first three balls for 6, but they lost wickets regularly to be 61 for 5 inside the first 8 overs.
Their top scorer was Suresh Raina with an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls.
The Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori says it was a really pleasing win in all aspects of the game, especially the way they coped with pressure situations.
The second and final Twenty20 match is tomorrow in Wellington.
