New Zealand vs India: 3 Kiwi players to watch out for in the T20I series

After the T20 World Cup 2016, New Zealand have won five out of eleven T20 series. The interesting fact is that they have played eight out of eleven series at home and won four. Their last T20 assignment was against the second string side of England at home. And, that English side without many first-choice players was enough to defeat the Blackcaps by 3-2.

New Zealand who were the semi-finalists of the last T20 World Cup would be aware of the quality of their T20 side. The Blackcaps have limited resources but they fight hard. They always do their home-work well and are on spot with their plannings most of the times. And, now the mercurial-yet-consistent eye T20 World Cup 2020.

The Kane Williamson-led side is scheduled to face India in all the formats, this home season. New Zealand boast of a very great record against the Men in Blue in this format, winning eight out of eleven T20Is. And, the record becomes even greater in their own backyard. The Blackcaps have tasted victory in four out of five matches and are yet to lose a T20I series against India at home.

Also Read: New Zealand vs India: Kiwis announce the 13-man squad for the T20I series

In this article, we have featured three Kiwi players to watch out for in the T20 series against India:

1. Ross Taylor

Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s one of the most reliable batsmen in the Test cricket and in ODIs, is not a great player in this format. His T20I career batting average and strike rate are 25.63 and 121.88 respectively. Taylor has represented New Zealand in 95 matches and has just five 50+ scores to his name. Among all the players who have played as many T20Is as Taylor, the Kiwi has the worst average and strike rate.

Coming to his role, the right-handed batsman is a middle-order batsman. A middle-order batsman is generally supposed to accumulate runs at a quicker rate with frequent boundaries. However, the 35-year-old has failed to do so. On average, he hits 1.26 fours and 0.74 maximum(s) per inning, overall about two boundaries (four and sixes combined) in one inning.

His last half-century in T20Is came way back in 2014. Taylor has crossed the 25-run mark in just 30 innings, and only fourteen of them have come at a strike rate of above 135. New Zealand need attacking batsmen in their batting unit, and the experienced man is not helping his team’s cause. It will be interesting to see for how long will the team management of New Zealand persist with Ross Taylor in the shortest format.