The hosts New Zealand and the visitors India will play the last game of the five-match T20I series at Bay Oval (Mount Maunganui) on Sunday (2nd February) night.
India are leading this series by the 4-0 margin. They won the first two matches of this series at Eden Park (Auckland), and their winning margins were by six and seven wickets respectively.
They played the next two matches at Seddon Park (Hamilton) and Westpac Stadium (Wellington). Both had the tie results, and India won both those games in the Super Over.
New Zealand vs India 2020: Here is India’s predicted XI for the upcoming Mount Maunganui T20I:
KL Rahul (wk)
The opening batsman KL Rahul is currently in a top form as he is the leading run-scorer in this T20I series. He has scored 179 runs in this series (average 59.66), including two half-centuries. Adding the wicketkeeping role, Rahul is handling the situation very well.
Sanju Samson
In the last match, Sanju Samson was included in the playing XI but failed to utilise that opportunity as he scored only eight runs after coming to bat as an opener. After playing three matches, Samson has scored just 33 runs. He must need to utilise these opportunities, which can bring further chances for him.
Virat Kohli (c)
In this T20I series, the Indian captain Virat Kohli scored 45, 11, 38 and 11 runs respectively. Though in the last game, he lost his wicket cheaply, Kohli scored the crucial winning runs (six not out) in the Super Over. He is a vital member in this batting unit.
Shreyas Iyer
In the first two matches of this series, Shreyas Iyer played the crucial knocks of 58* and 44 runs respectively. Though he failed in the next two innings, the team management is confident enough in his batting form.
Manish Pandey
Batting at the middle-order, Manish Pandey is mostly performing according to the situations. He scored crucial 50 not out in the last game at Wellington while the other Indian batsmen failed to perform. In this series, he has scored 14*, 14* and 50*. In fact, Pandey has been unbeaten in the last six T20I innings.
Shivam Dube
The all-rounder Shivam Dube has failed to perform consistently, and he must need to develop this to retain his spot in the playing XI. At present, his position is not secure. In this series, he has taken two wickets and scored 36 runs (average 12.00).
Washington Sundar
The 20-year-old all-rounder Washington Sundar got an opportunity in the last game, but he was expensive with the ball (2-0-24-0). He has needed to develop the wicket-taking ability as he is failing to take wickets in regular matches.
Shardul Thakur
The 28-year-old Shardul Thakur was the hero in the last game. After scoring crucial 20 runs with the bat, he also delivered the heroic last over. While New Zealand needed to score seven runs in that final over, Thakur conceded six runs and the hosts lost four wickets, including two run-outs. He needs to perform consistently, which he especially did in the last two matches.
Mohammed Shami
The right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami is currently in great form, and he was the hero in the third T20I of this series. Even conceding a sixer on the first ball of the final over in the Hamilton T20I, New Zealand only managed to score two runs in the last five balls, and it had a tie result which India ultimately won in the Super Over.
Navdeep Saini
The right-arm fast bowler Navdeep Saini has impressed with his consistent bowling performances. Though he didn’t take a wicket in the last T20I, he was one of the economical bowlers for India as he had the bowling figures of 4-0-29-0.
Kuldeep Yadav
The left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is looking for an opportunity. Last year was very tough for him, and it resulted in his removal from the playing XIs. He now wants to perform positively and return to his old position.