India wins T20 series opener against New Zealand by 48 runs

NAGPUR, India (AP) — Abhishek Sharma scored 84 off 35 balls as India beat New Zealand by 48 runs Wednesday in the opener of a five-match T20 series.

Sharma, the world’s number one T20 batter, hit eight sixes and five fours as India notched up 238-7 in 20 overs. It was the third highest T20 score against New Zealand.

Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav scored 32 off 22 balls, while Rinku Singh provided a late flourish with 44 not out off 20 balls.

Singh hit three sixes and four fours as India reached only the second-ever 200-plus total in T20s at the VCA Stadium — a first since 2009.

New Zealand fell short despite Glenn Phillips’ 78 off 40 balls. Mark Chapman also scored 39 off 24 balls as the Black Caps finished with 190-7 in 20 overs.

The series is preparation by both teams for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka starting Feb. 7. New Zealand won its first ODI bilateral series in India on Sunday.

Raipur will host the second T20 on Friday.

Put into bat, India lost Sanju Samson (10) and Ishan Kishan (8).

Sharma powered his way to 50 off 22 balls and put on 99 off 47 balls with Yadav. India crossed 100 in the ninth over, and the skipper was out caught in the 11th over as Mitchell Santner (1-37) got the breakthrough.

Ish Sodhi struck in the next over too — removing Sharma — and India seemed to lose its way at 185-6 in 15.4 overs.

Hardik Pandya scored 25 off 16 balls, while Shivam Dube managed only 9 runs. Axar Patel was out for only 5.

Singh held one end together and used the time-penalty to good effect in the end to propel India to an improbable target.

Pacers Kyle Jamieson (2-54) and Jacob Duffy (2-27) picked up a brace each.

In reply, New Zealand started poorly. Devon Conway was caught behind for a two-ball duck. Rachin Ravindra fell for 1.

Opener Tim Robinson scored 21 runs and put on 51 off 30 balls with Phillips, before Varun Chakravarthy (2-37) dismissed the former in the seventh over.

From 52-3, Phillips and Chapman added 79 off 42 balls for the fourth wicket. It set up New Zealand’s chase.

Both batters survived owing to India’s lapses in the field, and Phillips powered his way to 50 off 29 balls.

The breakthrough finally came in the 14th over — Phillips was out caught off Axar Patel.

Thereafter, the Black Caps didn’t have enough time left in the game despite sufficient firepower.

Daryl Mitchell scored 28 off 18 balls, while Santner was unbeaten on 20 off 13 balls, but the target proved to be too tall.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

New Zealand's Mark Chapman bats during the first T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Indian fans cheer for their team during the first T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips bats during the first T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

India's captain Suryakumar Yadav, left, and batting partner Abhishek Sharma encourage each other during the first T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

India's Rinku Singh bats during the first T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A crack in a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has eliminated the risk of a catastrophic explosion but it's still not safe enough for the remaining 16,000 residents living closest to the aerospace plant to go home, officials said Tuesday.

Crews were spraying water to keep cooling the tank that overheated last week, prompting the evacuation of 50,000 people in the Orange County city of Garden Grove. Most returned home after a crack formed over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, relieving pressure inside.

The evacuation zone remained the same on Tuesday morning, said Orange County Fire Capt. Brian Yau.

Crews worked overnight to ensure two other nearby tanks were neutralized and would not be affected by the compromised tank, he said, adding that material from one of these two tanks was transferred to another that has a neutralizing agent.

“They are moving material over to ensure that all threats have been eliminated,” Yau said.

Those threats include the risk of a very small explosion and potential spill, officials said.

Exposure to methyl methacrylate — a highly flammable chemical used to make plastics — can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The tank at the GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems plant contains 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of the chemical.

The interior cooled to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C), the county's fire division chief Craig Covey said Monday, down from 100 degrees (37.7 degrees C) a day earlier. The company said its technical specialists and the county fire authority have removed insulation from the tank to help cool it.

Health officials sought to reassure people who are returning to homes near the plant.

“There was no contamination. There were no fumes,” Orange County Health Director Regina Chinsio-Kwong said at Monday's news conference. “There was not a leak. So it should be, you should feel comfortable going home even if you’re across the street from that new zone line.”

The South Coast Air Quality Management District will monitor the air for several months and the EPA will be checking sewer and storm drains for spills, Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen said.

Garden Grove Unified School District said last week it was shutting a dozen schools through what was supposed to be the last day of the school year on Wednesday but later said only three would remain closed Tuesday. It was unclear if they would reopen before the school year ends this week.

At a parking lot at a large park in Fountain Valley, just southwest of Garden Grove, people sought refuge in an ad hoc shelter there or pitched tents outside. Other people gathered in the park to enjoy Memorial Day.

Kim Yen, a retiree who was still evacuated from her home two blocks from the plant, welcomed news that the worst was not expected.

“I am happy and many of us are happy,” she said Monday.

She said she's ready to go back but wants to be sure it’s safe first. She's also been worrying about the emergency workers, who she called “our heroes.”

As the tank heated up, the chemical converted from liquid to gas, ramping up the pressure and explosion risk, said Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University engineering professor who has studied environmental contamination. Some of the methyl methacrylate may already have hardened into a stable plastic similar to plexiglass, reducing the danger, he said.

The tank could eventually cool enough for crews to safely stabilize and drain the remaining material without triggering a spark or ignition, Whelton said.

However, he said there is still a risk of an explosion while the chemical remains hot and reactive. Temperatures need to fall closer to 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6 to 21.1 degrees C) before conditions are considered significantly safer, he said.

GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems makes cockpit windows, canopies and windshields for military and commercial aircraft. It employs about 16,000 people across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries, according to the company website.

“We apologize for the ongoing disruption this incident is causing and our priority remains its safe resolution, so that residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible,” the company said.

GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.

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This story has been corrected to attribute a quote to TJ McGovern, interim fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, not to division chief Craig Covey.

Willingham reported from Boston. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.

Two evacuees sit in their pickup truck at a gas station within the evacuation zone in Stanton, Calif., Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

An aerial view shows a police checkpoint enforcing a road closure at the evacuation zone boundary in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan De Jonge and fiancé Sher Stuckman set up a tent with their belonging and pet outside the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

People walk outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An American Red Cross volunteer walks outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif.,on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

People tend to their pets outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)