Blackcaps v India: Virat Kohli bringing 'intensity' to NZ tour

Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli is promising to bring the 'intensity' to the Blackcaps, when their NZ tour begins at Auckland's Eden Park on Friday.

Fresh off a 2-1 one-day series victory over in-form Australia, the tourists will enter this week's T20 encounter - the first of five - with unfamiliar conditions and without the benefit of a build-up match.

That doesn't seem to faze the irrepressible Kohli.

"We will be playing in conditions that are not ours, so we have to take even more intensity into that series, really put the home team under pressure and set that template from game one," he told media, as the team left India. 

"We can't afford to ease into the series after two games, because then it keeps getting tougher and tougher, so we'll look to make a mark in the first game that we play, play expressive cricket and be sure of what we want to do." 

India toured New Zealand last summer, winning a one-day series 4-1, but losing the T20 series (2-1) that followed.

"We were very positive in how we played, very sure of what we wanted to do," Kohli reflected. "The thing about playing away is, if you're able to put the home team under pressure, you can enjoy your cricket.

"You have to win at home - there's that sort of feeling - so if you bring your 'A' game, you can really put them under pressure.

"That's what we did last year - squeezed them in the middle overs, picked up wickets and the spinners were outstanding.

"We're looking forward to taking that same intensity into the series. We've played really well in 2020 and want to continue that."

Join us at 8pm Friday for live updates of the Blackcaps v Indian T20 series opener