New Zealand vs India, 3rd T20I, Preview: Visitors eye history against the Black Caps

After their 80-run defeat, their heaviest in the T20I format, against New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, India lost their third T20I on New Zealand soil and remained winless in the format. However, the Men in Blue, captained by interim skipper Rohit Sharma, soared above the expectations and came out all guns blazing in the second and penultimate game at the Eden Park in Auckland.

The visitors churned out a strong performance in the bowling department, after which their batsmen made sure that their team doesn’t encounter many hurdles en-route their road to victory. They won by seven wickets and most importantly, drew level in the series. The third encounter of the series and the last match of the tour is scheduled to be played tomorrow at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.

Over the last few months, India have garnered a lot of records and now they are eyeing another record-their maiden T20I series win in New Zealand. Nevertheless, the Kiwis can take heart from the fact that they bowled India out for 92 in an ODI at the very venue. However, this time around, the home team won’t be having the services of Trent Boult, who finished with a five-wicket-haul in that game.

Team Combination

New Zealand

Colin Munro and Tim Seifert are the opening batsmen with skipper Williamson at number three. The onus would be on Ross Taylor and Daryl Mitchell in the middle order. Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner would also need to step up. James Neesham may replace Scott Kuggelejin. Blair Tickner is likely to get a game and will partner Tim Southee in the fast bowling line-up. Ish Sodhi is the spin bowler.

Probable XI

Colin Munro, Tim Seifert (wk), Kane Williamson (C), Daryl Mitchell, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn/James Neesham, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner.

India

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan form the opening combo. Rishabh Pant will bat at three. Shubman Gill may make his debut, replacing Vijay Shankar, who hasn’t had the best of series. Dhoni, Karthik are the other batsmen. The Pandya brothers would also have to show their skills. Bhuvneshwar and Ahmed are the specialist pacers. Yuzvendra Chahal is the only spinner. Kuldeep may have to sit out again.

Probable XI

Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar/Shubman Gill, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Focus will be on

Colin Munro (New Zealand)

The southpaw has had a pretty rough phase and was dropped from the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. Even in the shortest format where he has three tons at the highest level, Munro couldn’t live up to expectations. Following scores of 34 and 12, the 31-year-old would want to get his touch back and at least secure his place in the T20I limited-overs team.

Rishabh Pant (India)

The 21-year-old’s short T20I career has been marred with inconsistent shows and hence he has been in and out of the team. The Uttarakhand-born looked good in the erstwhile contest after churning out a 40 not out. Now his task would be to back the knock with another substantial inning. He is most likely to be persisted with at the top of the order and he can’t afford to let the opportunity go by any means.

Head to Head

Matches – 10 | New Zealand won – 7 | India won – 3 | NR – 0 | Tied – 0

Stat Attack

21– Runs Ross Taylor needs 63 more runs to become the first player with 16000 International runs for New Zealand.

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Hindi 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD

Live Streaming – Hotstar

Match Timings – 12:30 IST; 20:00 local

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