India vs NZ T20I: How Hardik Pandya's young team is looking to fight back after T20 World Cup disaster
After a dismal show in the T20 World Cup where the Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue were knocked out after a 10-wicket loss against England, Indian team under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya will play a three-match T20I series against New Zealand from November 18 at Wellington. The second and third T20Is will be played on November 20 and November 22 in Mount Maunganui and Napier in New Zealand.
After that, the team will play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan starting from November 25 to November 30.
The new Indian team: The team this time will have new faces with less exposure to international cricket. Among these, Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill and Umran Malik will be interesting to watch out for as these players have a good record in T20 games.
From the World Cup squad, only Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be in the squad. Players like Yuzvendra Chahal and Rishbah Pant are also expecetd to play.
Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill might be asked to open the innings keeping in mind their good strike rates.
The big challenge: The bowling of Hardik Pandya's men will be a big challenge as it has been big let down in the recent past.
- Leaving Arshdeep Singh, even pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has struggled against a tough batting attacks like England in T20I World Cup.
- Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammad Siraj will spearhead the bowling unit.
- Malik who was a star in IPL playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad has played only 3 T20I games for India and his performance was average.
- Harshal Patel, on the other hand, has played 23 T20I games and has clinched 26 wickets at an average of 26.96.
- Mohammad Siraj also has played only 6 T20I games for India in which he has taken 5 wickets.
Overall, the bowling will be a big test for the Indian team in New Zealand. The team has been struggling with a mediocre bowling attack which has cost them the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.
New Zealand vs India head-to-head records in T20Is: India and New Zealand have squared off against each other in 20 T20I games. Out of these, India have won 11 while New Zealand have won 9 games. One game ended without a result. The last time India and New Zealand went against each other was in November 2021 where India defeated the Kiwis by 3-0.
Like India, New Zealand too will start the tournament after a disappointing T20 World Cup. The black caps were defeated by Pakistan in the semi-final game and they were out of the tournament. Also, New Zealand's premium pacer Tim Southee does not feature in the T20 squad.
Indian team's batting: Since the senior players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik will not be there, the responsbility will now be on the shoulders of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
Among these, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have a golden chance to prove their batting skills as this will also open the doors for them in the 50 over World Cup next year in India.
Probable playing XI for India: Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Rishabh Pant (wk) Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal and Umran Malik, Washington Sundar.
Probable playing XI for New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c) Devon Conway (wk) Finn Allen, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Philips, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Fergusson, Adam Milne.
The match will start at 12 pm from Wellington Regional stadium, New Zealand. It will broadcast live on DD Sports channel and will also stream Live on Amazon Prime Video.