New Zealand vs India, 1st T20I, Stats Preview: Players records and approaching milestones

After ending their respective journey’s in the semi-final of the recently concluded T20 World Cup, both New Zealand and India now lock horns in a three-match bilateral series beginning on Friday, November 18, 2022, in Wellington. Both the sides failed to reach the mega final of the marquee event as the Kiwis suffered defeat against Pakistan while the Men in Blue faced an embarrassing ten-wicket loss to eventual champions England.

Heading into a fresh series, the visitors have rested senior players like captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli with coach Rahul Dravid also opting for a break. The team will be skippered by this year’s IPL winner Hardik Pandya while wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is named as the vice-captain. The team has selected young guns in the form of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, and speedster Umran Malik with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh retaining their spots from the WC squad.

Speaking about the hosts Kiwis, they have dropped veteran batter Martin Guptill and pacer Trent Boult and brought in Blair Tickner in an otherwise unchanged squad from the recently held mega event. Dashing opener Finn Allen will continue to open with Devon Conway while seamer Adam Milne is expected to replace Boult. The BlackCaps and the Indian team will look to put the disappointment of the semi-final loss behind them and start the series on a winning note in Windy Wellington.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers ahead of the 1^st T20I between New Zealand and India:

30 – Rishabh Pant (970) needs 30 runs to complete the landmark of 1000 runs in T20Is.

67 – Rishabh Pant (3933) needs 67 runs to reach 4000 runs in international cricket.

1 – James Neesham (49) needs one four to reach 50 fours in T20Is.

2 – Ish Sodhi (198) is two scalps away from completing 200 wickets across formats.

4 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (36) is four scalps away from surpassing Joshua Little (39 in 2022) and becoming the bowler with the most T20I wickets in a calendar year.

100 – Shubhman Gill, if features, is all set to become the 100^th player to represent India in T20 internationals.

1 – Suryakumar Yadav (6) requires one POTM award to surpass Virat Kohli (6 in 2016) and become the Indian with the most POTM prizes in T20Is in a calendar year.

29 – Glenn Phillips (650) needs 29 runs to go past Martin Guptill (678 in 2021) and become the New Zealand batter with the most T20I runs in a calendar year.