Chennai, Jan. 22 -- Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin said that skipper Suryakumar Yadav's 22-ball 32 took the "monkey off his back" as he had come into the series battling serious form issues, averaging only over 13 in the last 21 matches. He also noted that the Indian captain "looked in his element" while batting, hitting four boundaries and a six in his knock.

India continued their winning ways with a 48-run win over the Kiwis and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series on the back of fine knocks from Abhishek Sharma (84 in 35 balls) and Rinku Singh (44* in 20 balls), reaching 238/7. In the chase, Glenn Phillips (78 in 39 balls) and Mark Chapman (39 in 24 balls) threatened to take the game closer than anticipated, but the b...