India will be looking to continue their strong run in T20Is when they take on New Zealand in the first of the five-match series against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday (October 22). The Men in Blue are coming to New Zealand on the back of a 2-2 series draw against West Indies at home, which was largely dominated by batters.
But things will be different in for the Indian team, with completely different conditions on offer, with the hosts’ pace-friendly pitches likely to test the visitors’ adaptability and preparation. The short turnaround between series adds to the challenge, leaving India with limited time to adapt to the conditions ahead of the opening T20I.
India’s hectic T20I schedule has seen the team travel across Ireland, England and India, followed by Japan for the , before returning home for a closely contested series against the West Indies. New Zealand also head into the series after a closely contested T20I against Bangladesh, with the series decider washed out, leaving the three-match series end 1-1.
India enjoy a 17-11 head-to-head record against in T20Is out of the 31 games played between the two nations. Three games ended in ties. On New Zealand soil also India hold a slight 5-4 advantage over the hosts in 12 games played. Three games ended in ties.
Sony Sports Network has the broadcast rights of the India vs New Zealand T20Is series. The India vs New Zealand 1st T20I will be telecast live on Sony Sports channels in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada and new Tamil entertainment channel Sony VIZHA. Live streaming of India vs New Zealand 1st T20I will be available on SonyLIV.
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav/Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
