India vs New Zealand: India’s strongest predicted playing XI for 2nd T20I

After just about winning the first match in Jaipur, team India would want to wrap up the series by winning the second T20I game in Ranchi. The first T20I went pretty much how the team management would have expected but considering how they were once placed in the run chase, they should have got it done earlier than they did. 

However, the work done by the top order was quite enough as India ended up winning that game by five wickets. Moving ahead, there will be some changes in the plans and there is one injury concern as well. However, the spirit of this team would remain the same as they play in the second game.

Here is the predicted XI of India against New Zealand

Openers (KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma)

The opening combination between Rahul and Rohit has now produced four back-to-back fifty-plus stands in T20Is. The duo has been in terrific form with the blade since the end of the T20 World Cup 2021 and they seemed to have carried it to this T20I series. In the previous match, the pair put on 50 runs from 31 balls. 

Rahul’s knock was limited to one four and one six as he was dismissed for 15 runs from 14 balls. But Rohit went on to smash 48 runs from 36 balls. He would be disappointed with the fact that he didn’t get a fifty and finished off the chase, but his captaincy was quite impressive. The team will hope for the pair of the skipper and his deputy to continue their good form. 

Middle-order (Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant)

Suryakumar Yadav has been raring to go and score some runs at the no. 3 position for quite some time and he has managed to do so. He played quite a brilliant knock of 62 runs from 40 balls which formed the mainstay of India’s chase in the previous game. However, there are a few questions for the rest of the middle order, especially regarding the position. 

Rishabh Pant has always batted below Iyer in their IPL team, Delhi Capitals. However, when the two have featured for India in T20Is, Pant has batted ahead of him more often than not. It makes some sense, considering Pant is the first left-handed batter in the batting order. Either way, team India would want to get some clarity between themselves. Pant scored a run-a-ball 17 which eventually took India home while Iyer made just five from eight. 

All-rounders (Venkatesh Iyer and Axar Patel)

For this series, India seems to have decided to back Venkatesh Iyer for the no. 6 role. The Madhya Pradesh all-rounder didn’t get a single over in the previous match but could be seen bowling a couple, if not more in the next match. It was absurd given the fact that he was picked ahead of some of the other players, but didn’t get a chance to bowl. 

With the bat though, he did some damage, hitting a much important boundary off the first legal delivery bowled to him in international cricket. Once he was gone, Axar Patel scored a run off the only delivery he faced. However, the left-arm spinner would be slightly disappointed with the kind of day he had with the ball, giving 31 runs from his four overs. 

Bowlers (Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, and Avesh Khan)

Ravichandran Ashwin’s second rise as a master T20 bowler continued as he delivered yet another fantastic spell in the middle overs. It was his double-wicket over, which shifted the momentum slightly into India’s favour. He also gave just 23 runs in his four overs while Bhuvneshwar Kumar did something similar, taking two wickets for just 24 runs from his four overs. His coming back into form would certainly please the team management. 

Mohammed Siraj is likely to miss this game having suffered an injury in the previous match. In his place, fans could see Avesh Khan make his debut for the Indian team. Siraj didn’t particularly have a good day with the ball, going for 39 runs in his four overs and picking one wicket. Deepak Chahar was also expensive, picking up one wicket for 42 runs, but will get a nod.