Following an outstanding brand of cricket, Virat Kohli is having now staggering numbers under his belt, as a skipper and then being a batting mainstay which further saw him leading his side to yet another series win on Sunday (October 29) which came against New Zealand, in the form of three-match One-day Internationals.
The competitive score-line of 50-over format read 2-1, as New Zealand players also dominated the show from time-to-time which was far impressive than having one-sided affairs.
The thorough professionalism had instilled confidence among the hosts after the Black Caps gave a tough time to the formidable side by winning the series opener at the Wankhede on October 22, before Men in Blue made a strong comeback amid Pune pitch controversy while winning the game convincingly by six wickets.
Moreover, in the series decider at the placid surface of Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, Jasprit Bumrah finished off the things in style for India while being a death bowling specialist after Kohli alongside Rohit registered a double-hundred run-stand which saw both eased past triple-figure mark to pile-up the miseries for Kiwis bowlers.
However, New Zealand had a rollicking start with opener Colin Munro, giving it back to the hosts’ bowlers. The Kiwis crossed past 300-run mark, but subsequently lost the match by six runs after their last hope and promising batsman Tom Latham trudged off the ground when he was found well short of his crease in the 48th over.
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After the commencement of ODI series, both the teams will now square off in the three-match T20I series, starting November 1.
Interestingly, after facing off in five T20Is, the visitors are having a 5-0 lead, as hosts would be aiming to close in on the gap as much as they could while banking on the recent kind of a form.
Team India:
With top-orde: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli adding much value to the side for having the splendid time with the bat the only worry sign looks to be a middle-order.
However, with the shortest version of the game taking place, the hosts’ players are further having awareness about the, as bowlers have had been on a roll to yield the desired results. With the addition of Shreyas Iyer from India A and fast bowler Mohammad Siraj, India is looking forward to strengthening the pool of players while giving their youngsters a feel of top-flight cricket straight from the dugout if they won’t make it to any of the games.
The much-talked-about Indian batting line-up has been further bolstered by gloveman Mahendra Singh Dhoni followed by seam bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who could change the complexion of the game.
With such flair, and as many as five bowlers getting listed in India’s squad, old-horse Ashish Nehra is highly-likely going to be inducted in the Playing XI, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar could make way for the 38-year-old Delhi-based bowler. Concluding, the all-around performances eventually make India one of the threatening opponents across the cricketing globe.
India T20I XI: Virat Kohli (Skipper), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra.
Team New Zealand:
The number one ranked team is wary of Team India as far as the recently-concluded series, the visitors sprung many surprises, as one of them was to stay afloat in the form of acclimatising to the conditions, unlike unimpressive Australia.
For the Black Caps, the key figure would be opening batsman Martin Guptill, who not only has the wide range of shots in his arsenal but could further demolish the best of the bowling attacks owing to his explosive batting.
Similarly, Colin Munro has also been at the top of the game but hasn’t been consistent to score runs, and he would be aiming to give a rollicking start to his side in the short-paced tournament. Skipper Williamson had a mixed 50-over series after initial hiccups, as Tom Latham has been on song particularly while facing the much-talked spin attack of India.
Wrist spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep shouldered the responsibility with such pride when seniors in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were told to rest following the rigorous schedule which led to the rotation policy. In the bowling department, Kiwis would be banking on senior bowlers; Tim Southee and Trent Boult with would be further assisted by Mitchell Santner and Colin de Grandhomme to contain the Indian batting line-up which is an uphill task.
Match Prediction: Shorter the boundaries, longer the miseries for the bowlers in a nutshell. The stadium in the heart of Delhi has further proved to be of the sort in the recent past which is expected to be full of runs.
With India already termed as firm favourites for the impending series, New Zealand players would also have their chin up to mark it as evenly poised series. While talking about the result of the first T20, India is highly likely going to emerge on the top, as the Delhi encounter is expected to end on a thrilling note.
The team winning the toss first could further decide to bowl first, and the first innings total is expected to be between 160 and 170.
NZ T20I XI: Kane Williamson (Skipper), Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee/Matt Henry and Trent Boult.
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Also Read: (India vs New Zealand 2017: New Zealand’s Predicted XI For The First T20)
(IND vs NZ 2017: Virat’s Consistency With the Bat is Beyond Phenomenal – Sunil Gavaskar)