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India, NZ kick-off series with first T20I at Eden Park

By Mumbai Indians

The Indian tour of New Zealand is all set to kickstart with the first T20I at Eden Park in Auckland. It will be India’s first away trip after the 2019 World Cup and Virat Kohli’s men will have a lot to prove. 

Battle of wicket-keepers 

With KL Rahul donning the wicket keeping gloves against Australia despite Rishabh Pant’s availability, it will be interesting to see who will be behind the stumps for India. Sanju Samson has also been included as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan. So India has three potential wicket keepers in their squad -- Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Sanju Samson. 

Injury-hit pace attack 

The BlackCaps are missing their ace pacers. Their stalwarts with the ball, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson as well as the likes of Matt Henry and Jimmy Neesham are all nursing injuries. Hamish Bennett has been recalled to the national side after a gap of almost three years.

Check-out who Hamish snared when India toured New Zealand the last time he was in action. 

Fond memories of Eden Park for Hitman 

The Indian vice-captain will have sweet memories of Eden Park as he had scored a match-winning half-century at the ground last year, playing as the stand-in skipper. Rohit Sharma had a sensational 2019 and his recent knock of 119 against Australia suggests that we may witness the same in 2020 as well.

Spun between spinners 

Ravindra Jadeja has been quite decent with the ball and also gives the team a batting option. Kuldeep Yadav is arguably the best spinner in the side while Washington Sundar has been Kohli’s go-to-man, especially during powerplay overs. Also, with Yuzvendra Chahal there, the team management will have a healthy headache to deal with. 

New Zealand enjoy better head-to-head record 

If there is one team that has given India a run for their money in the shortest format, it’s the BlackCaps. Both teams have contested in twelve encounters out of which the Kiwis have won eight times including twice in the coveted T20 World Cup. 

This is going to be the first time that the Men in Blue will feature in a five-match T20I series. With the T20 World Cup in sight, both teams will also be looking forward to building their team combinations. The first T20 international between India and New Zealand is scheduled to begin at 12:30 PM IST on 24th January, 2020.