Introduction
India will play New Zealand in their first T20I at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Friday, January 27th. The match is due to begin at 7.30 pm local time.
This follows the conclusion of the ODI series which India won convincingly, with big wins in Hyderabad, Rajkot and Indore.
The Kiwis underperformed in those matches and will be keen to give a better account of themselves in the shorter form of the game.
Head to head
There have been 25 previous T20Is between the two teams and the current record reads 11 wins to India, 9 to New Zealand, with the rest of the games either being tied or ending in a no result.
The last time they met in T20I cricket was immediately after the World Cup which both exited at the semi-final stage, the Kiwis beaten by Pakistan, and India crushed by England.
The first match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to the weather, but India won the second match in Tauranga by 65 runs. The third game in Napier was declared a tie on the DLS method with rain again playing a part in proceedings.
ICC Rankings
India are currently the number one ranked T20I team, closely followed by the World Cup winners England. New Zealand are currently fifth in the standings.
Subsequent T20I cricket
That was the last time that New Zealand have played a T20I match. For their part, India began 2023 with a three match series against Sri Lanka. They won the first, lost the second, but cruised to victory in the third to take the series.
India ring the changes
Regular captain Rohit Sharma and ex-skipper Virat Kohli are set to miss this series again, part of the BCCI’s avowed policy of workload management ahead of the World Cup. Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel are also unavailable.
Hardik Pandya will once again lead the side, with Suryakumar Yadav as his deputy.
Meanwhile, Prithvi Shaw has earned a recall to the international set-up after some good performances in domestic cricket, and he could open the batting, although given the current form that Shubman Gill is in, he will be hard to dislodge from the team right now.
Ishan Kishan is likely to be handed the wicketkeeper’s gloves again, and there may be more chances for Rahul Tripathi and Shivam Mavi to prove themselves at this level.
New Zealand have limited options
New Zealand have limited options available to them on this tour, and do not have great strength in depth on their squad, Mark Chapman may replace Henry Nicholls in the batting line-up, but most of the same XI that finished the last ODI match in Indore will be given another chance.
The pitch
The pitch in Ranchi has a reputation of being dry and slow. That should offer some assistance to the spinners, but the quick bowlers can expect little help from the surface, and the batters will not have to cope with any uneven bounce.
All the portents are there for this to be a high scoring match.
The last time it staged an international match, the same two protagonists were involved again, this time in the ODI format. That was in October last year just before the World Cup, India winning by seven wickets, with 113 from Shreyas Iyer and 93 from Ishan Kishan among the highlights on that occasion.
The weather
The weather forecast for Ranchi for Friday is it should be dry and sunny, with a maximum temperature of around 28 degrees Celsius. There is little or no chance of rain.
Dew is not likely to be a significant factor in this match.
Players to watch
Suryakumar Yadav is currently the number one ranked T20I batter in the world, and enjoyed a sparkling series against Sri Lanka earlier in the month. He found the ODI format more challenging, but he will be looking for another set of good performances against the Kiwis.
New Zealand’s Devon Conway is currently the third ranked, and he may just have played himself into some form by making a century in a losing cause in the 3rd ODI in Indore.
Prediction
Despite fielding a changed team, India will consider themselves favourite for this match and series.
They are on a winning run just now, confidence is high, and there is healthy competition for places. Against an opponent whose morale may be damaged after the ODI series, they should continue their recent run.
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