Wellington, Jan 31 (PTI) Manish Pandey smashed an unbeaten half-century as India posted 165 for eight against New Zealand in the fourth T20 International at Sky stadium here on Friday.

Pandey blasted three fours in his 36-ball 50, while opener KL Rahul had three hits to the fence and two sixes in his 26-ball 39.

For New Zealand, Ish Sodhi (3/26) took three wickets, Hamish Bennett (2/41) picked two, while Tim Southee (1/28), Scott Kuggeleijn (1/39) and Mitchell Santner (1/26) accounted for one each.

Earlier, New Zealand stand-in skipper Tim Southee won the toss and elected to field. Regular skipper Kane Williamson was ruled out of the match, owing to a shoulder injury.

India have rested Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja for the match, bringing in the trio of Sanju Samson, Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar.

India lead the five-match series 3-0.

Brief Score:

India: 165 for 8 in 20 overs (Manish Pandey 50; Ish Sodhi 3/26). PTI

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