After a rather bitter loss, India will take on New Zealand in the 2nd T20 at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday.
After a 3-0 mauling at the hands of India, New Zealand made a remarkable comeback in the first T20. The World No. 1 T20 team struggled to get going and despite a splendid bowling spell by Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, the visitors managed to get 176 on the board, which proved to be too big of a total for the hosts to conquer.
What have they done so far?
The Kiwi openers looked devoid of creativity in the ODI series, however, they turned things around in the shortest format of the game. Devon Conway and Finn Allen provided the kind of start the Black Caps had been looking for.
Devon Conway continued from where he left off in the penultimate ODI and scored 52 runs off 35 balls. Daryl Mitchell looked extremely uncomfortable against the spinners, however, he turned things around in the latter stages of the game and guided New Zealand to a total of 176.
Arshdeep Singh’s bittersweet love affair with no-balls continued as the young pacer conceded 27 runs in the 20th over of the first innings. Umran Malik, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Mavi, too, proved to be too expensive, allowing the Kiwi batsmen to open their arms and put up a strong total on the board.
Washington Sundar remained the pick of the bowlers and picked the crucial wickets of top-order batters Fin Allen and Mark Chapman. Sadly, India witnessed yet another top-order collapse while chasing, with Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi scoring 4, 7 and 0 respectively.
Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya managed to add a decent total on the board before they too, perished to a lethal Kiwi bowling attack.
Lockie Ferguson, Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner managed two wickets each, allowing the Kiwis to bag the first victory in the three-match T20 series, following a rather lacklustre performance in the 50-over format.
Head to Head record
Both New Zealand and India have met each other 23 times and India has won 12 times whereas the Kiwis became victorious on 10 occasions and one game ended in a tie. While India was absolutely terrific in the T20 series on its tour of New Zealand and also managed to get the better of the Kiwis in the 50-over format, the T20 series didn’t begin in a similar fashion.
Key players
Suryakumar Yadav (India): India was counting on SKY to get them across the finish line in the first T20. However, despite scoring 47 runs, the Kiwi bowling attack didn’t allow SKY to unleash what he’s best known for.
The T20 batsman of the year already has a century to his name this year and clearly, the Indian line-up counts on him to step up when the team needs him the most.
While SKY did try to counter-attack following a top-order collapse, his efforts went in vain as the hosts only managed to put up 155 on the board. Yadav will unsurprisingly play an instrumental role in the following two games.
Devon Conway (New Zealand): Conway had been the most dangerous batsman for the Black Caps ever since he announced his arrival on the scene. He continued his splendid run from the ODI series and managed to score 52 runs, which included seven fours and one six.
Towards the end of the ODI series, Conway proved to be an instrumental part of the Kiwi line-up and scored 138 runs in the penultimate ODI. Undoubtedly, the Black Caps will be counting on him to provide the kind of start he did in the first T20.
Predicted XI
India: Prithvi Shaw. Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya ©, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
New Zealand: Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner ©, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Jacob Duffy, Lokie Ferguson, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner
Prediction
The Indian team, however, young and inexperienced, is known for its emphatic comebacks. While the Kiwis managed to get an edge over the Indian team in the first T20, we predict that the Indian team will emerge victorious in the 2nd T20 and will take the series to a decider which will take place on Wednesday.