Days after the conclusion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, India and New Zealand will face off in the 1st T20I of a three-match series at Wellington Regional Stadium. In the Super 12, both teams topped their respective groups but failed to reach the final after a disappointing performance in the semi-finals. India “didn’t get the ball”, according to their captain, facing a 10-wicket defeat to England. With Rahul Dravid taking a sabbatical leave and VVS Laxman acting as Interim Head Coach, Laxman faces a challenging task for this tour; he has to instill confidence in his players.
Key Indian players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah will all be absent from the tour. With Skipper Rohit Sharma and Vice-Captain KL Rahul in absentia, Shikhar Dhawan will lead the ODI team and Hardik Pandya will captain the T20I team.
All-format New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson leads both the ODI and T20I squad and has many crucial players, except for pacemaker Trent Boult, in their squad for both of the series against India. In the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup, India and New Zealand both managed to reach the semi-final with different opponents where India lost to England and New Zealand to Pakistan.
India Top Batter Odds
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 17, 2:00 P.M (GMT)
Having shown excellent form lately, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been priced at 4.50 by bookmaker 10bet. Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and the man-in-action Suryakumar Yadav closely follow them at 4.75 each. It’s no wonder that all these batsmen are favoured heavily, and they will be the ones to look out for.
When both teams met in late 2022, India defeated New Zealand 3-0 in the T20I and 1-0 in the two-leg Test series. When Pandya last captained India on the Ireland tour and T20I against West Indies, India won with a 100% shooting winning record.
With a relatively young and inexperienced contingent trusted for this series, the team will need to find some chemistry to put in a solid performance on Kiwi soil. Meanwhile, New Zealand has the same players ready to go from their well-done T20 World Cup roster.
The team of the day here is New Zealand. On their home ground and against a new look Indian team, the BlackCaps should come away victorious. The head-to-head record is only marginally in India’s favour with the Men in Blue winning on both occasions; otherwise, the teams are level at 9-9 in 20 T20Is.
New Zealand Top Bowler Odds
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 17, 2:00 P.M (GMT)
Bookmaker 10bet has picked Lockie Ferguson as the top bowler for the New Zealand team and has priced him at 3.75. This is no surprise as his current form presents a serious threat to the Indian batters. Tim Southee and Blair Tickner stand priced at 4.00 and 4.75, respectively.
The average first innings score in T20 here is 154. Though if both teams play to their full potential, we can easily see scores above 160. The power-play score would lie between 40-50 but Trent Boult and Martin Guptill, their stronger side and notable names, will be missing. After a spectacular exhibition of teamwork against Australia with Finn Allen scoring 42 off 24 and the Kiwis taking a striking advantage, the New Zealand cricket board showed faith in him by adding him to their T20I squad against India.
Glenn Phillips was their leading batsman this year for T20I with just over 650 runs with a strike rate of 155.13. Devon Conway scored 484 runs with an average rate of 48.40, while Finn Allen ranks in with 408 runs at an average of 157.52.
These Kiwi batsmen present a strong contest against the Indian bowlers. Spinner Ish Sodhi led the wicket-takers for New Zealand in T20I with 26 wickets in 20 matches. In Trent Boult’s absence, Blair Tickner found a place in the T20s. The pace deck for the Kiwi consists of Southee, Milne, Ferguson and Tickner.
Team India, on the other hand, will be resting several regulars. BCCI is reportedly planning to split the captaincy for T20I and other formats as Hardik Pandya is being considered to be the skipper for T20I making it a test for Pandya’s leadership for a young Indian team going against New Zealand in New Zealand.
Names like Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer should be eager to take the field for the Indian team and look to make the most of their opportunity. T20I’s No. 1 batsman in Suryakumar Yadav will be a crucial mid-range batsman for the Indian team. Deepak Hooda has also shown good form, and it will be exciting to see these young Indian batsmen in foreign conditions.
India vs New Zealand T20 Series Winner Odds (Outright)
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 17, 2:00 P.M (GMT)
Having the home-ground advantage, New Zealand comes in as the favourite to win the series and has been priced at 1.68 by bookmaker 10bet. Hardik-led team India, which has integrated youngsters into their squad, has been priced at 2.10.
Umran Malik is back with his ferocious bowling pace to make the fans go crazy. Joining him is IPL 2021 winner Purple Cap Harshal Patel and India’s greatest wicket-taker in the 2022 T20 World Cup – Arshdeep Singh. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Siraj, the fast bowling department is complete, while Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will lead the spin after a long time.
