Team India will look to put the disappointment of their ignominious exit from the T20 World Cup behind when they take on New Zealand in the first of the three T20Is on Friday.
The Men in Blue endured yet another heartbreak in an ICC event as they bowed out of the T20 World Cup with a whimper, getting outplayed by eventual winners England by 10 wickets in Adelaide in the second semi-final. The defeat extended their wait for an ICC trophy, with the Indian team not having won a major global event since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Like India, New Zealand too were eliminated in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after topping their group, failing to defend what would prove to be a sub-par total against Pakistan. Unlike the Indians however, the Black Caps did manage to collect a few wickets during Babar Azam and Co’s successful run chase.
The two teams lock horns in three T20Is, which will then be followed by as many ODIs. Each game in the tour will take place in a different venue, with Wellington’s Sky Stadium playing host to the opening game of India’s tour.
While the Black Caps continue to be led by their usual captain Kane Williamson, the all-rounder Hardik Pandya has filled in for India skipper Rohit Sharma, who has been rested from the tour along with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. Though they’ve stuck with Williamson as their skipper, the Kiwis have dropped senior pacer Trent Boult and opener Martin Guptill for the series.
Ahead of the first T20I, we take a look at five players who could strike big in the series:
Umran Malik
With the Indian attack taking a severe beating in the semi-final against England, supporters of the Men in Blue will want some changes to be made to the team’s bowling combination, to put it politely. And while young Arshdeep Singh remained impressive, folks will be wanting an alternative to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami in the pace department.
Express pacer Umran Malik is seen as one such candidate capable of dismantling opposition batting lineups at will if he gets his discipline right along with his breakneck speed. Malik, who hit 157kmph while representing the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022, had made his debut in the tour of England earlier this year but was a tad expensive. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer will hope to make up for it this time around and present a solid case for his long-term selection in New Zealand where the conditions will be to his liking.
Lockie Ferguson
Malik briefly held the record for the fastest ball delivered in the 2022 edition of the IPL for a brief while, only for Gujarat Titans’ pacer Lockie Ferguson to break the record a little over three weeks later in the final, clocking 157.3 kmph against Malik’s 157.
And in the upcoming series between India and New Zealand, it won’t just be Malik who will be setting the speed gun on fire; Ferguson is just as capable of hitting dizzying speeds with the ball. What’s more Ferguson’s the more experienced of the two as well as a local, someone who understands the conditions inside out. Expect a battle for the ages between these two.
Yuzvendra Chahal
And it’s not just the pace department one has to keep an eye out for in the upcoming series. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will be hoping to send a strong message to those who kept him out of India’s playing XI in the T20 World Cup despite wrist-spinners proving to be match-winners for teams such as England and Pakistan, the two sides that made it to the final.
Chahal, whose only appearances in Australia took place during the practice games, doesn’t have the best of records when it comes to T20Is in New Zealand, but will he be hoping to change for the better should opportunities come his way in the upcoming series.
Shubman Gill
It wasn’t just the bowling unit where India had issues in the T20 World Cup; their batting department has had its fair share of problems, especially at the top of the order with skipper Rohit Sharma and his deputy KL Rahul struggling to find their touch and ultimately putting pressure on Virat Kohli and the rest of the middle order.
Punjab and Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill comes into this series on the back of a stellar run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he collected 260 runs at an average of 52 and a strike rate of 156.62 including a 55-ball 126 against powerhouses Karnataka in the quarters. And he sure will hope to present himself as a successor to Rahul should the senior team management decide they’ve enough of him in the shortest format.
Glenn Phillips
Phillips was among the standout players in the World Cup, where he smashed one of the two centuries scored across the tournament — a 64-ball 104 against Sri Lanka that came at a time when the Black Caps were reeling at 15/3, helping them post a match-winning total of 167/7.
The South Africa-born keeper-batter finished the highest run-scorer for his side in the tournament with 201 runs at an average of 40.20 and a strike rate of 158.26 and the 10th-highest overall (fifth, if you take into account the teams that started their campaigns from the Super 12s). And though his form tapered off towards the end when it mattered the most, with Phillips getting dismissed for 6 in the semi-final off Mohammad Nawaz’s bowling, he remains the biggest threat among the Kiwi batters for Hardik Pandya and Co in the upcoming fixtures.
Squads:
India: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Rishabh Pant(wk), Deepak Hooda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson(c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner, Michael Bracewell, Ish Sodhi
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