New Zealand vs India, 1st T20I – Dafanews Match Preview

After once again suffering disappointing losses in the semifinal of the World Cup, New Zealand and India will take on each other in the three-match T20I series, with the first game to be played at Wellington on Friday.

We take a look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.

Current form for India: L W W L W

Hardik Pandya will lead the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma and he will look to get the best out of his players. Moreover, the series will be a good opportunity for the young players to grab their chances with both hands in the absence of players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami.

India will want to adopt an aggressive approach in the PowerPlay overs, which was not the case in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.

Current form for New Zealand: L W L W NR

On the other hand, New Zealand was also brilliant in the Super 12 stage of the World Cup but the Kiwis could not bring their best in the all-important semi-final against Pakistan.

Head to Head: Matches: 20, Won by India: 11, Won by New Zealand: 9.

India holds a slight advantage in the head-to-head battle against the Blackcaps.

Players to look out for: Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shubman Gill, and Yuzvendra Chahal will hold the key for India.

Mitchell Santner, Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, and Glenn Phillips will be the crucial players for New Zealand.

India T20I squad for the New Zealand tour: Hardik Pandya (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

New Zealand T20I squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner.