New Zealand will be looking to leave the ODIs behind after they were outplayed by India in the three-match series and aim to bounce back in the T20Is. When I look at this India side, I once again see lots of changes and that is a good thing, in my opinion, as they can use their large talent pool, try some young faces. Hardik Pandya takes over captaincy and he has got Suryakumar Yadav as vice-captain and you can see a wind of change here as India look into future as far as shortest format of the game is concerned.
It will be interesting to see what the Indian top order looks like. There are some quality top order players in Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Let’s not forget that swashbuckler Prithvi Shaw too makes a comeback after scoring tons of runs in domestic cricket and he would be quite an exciting sight to watch if he plays and gets going.
India must look to be flexible in the batting lineup. One day, you might bat at 5 and on days when it is required, you can be asked to come at 3. I think that is the strength of a quality batting lineup today in world cricket in T20s.
The Men In Blue do cover a lot of bases in terms of the depth in the T20 squad. Let’s start with their bowling unit and first name that instantly comes in your mind is pf U mran Malik. He will always be an X-Factor player for India because of his mad pace. He might go for some runs but when you have the extra pace, it will always be exciting to watch and the opponent will be wary of you. Malik has this ability to make a comeback from any stage of the game and strike. Despite Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami not there, this is still a quality bunch. Arshdeep Singh is brilliant in T20Is and Umran is special. Washington Sundar is a useful spinner, and a quality all-rounder. Shivam Mavi might have blown hot and cold of late has had injuries concerns in the past but is a seriously good bowler when on song.
Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and captain Hardik complete a more-than-a-decent bowling unit. In Deepak Hooda and Jitesh Sharma, whose shot-making capability we have seen in IPL, you have good back-up specialist players in the batting and wicketkeeping departments.
With this all-round side, India certainly start as favourites. They may have some stars missing but they still have their bases covered.
On the other side of the table, the Black Caps have another new captain in form of Mitchell Santner. Devon Conway is a key player for New Zealand and against India, with Kane Williamson not there, his role will be even more crucial. He is someone who can be used as a floater, can open the innings or bat at No 3. The big question for me is Finn Allen in the New Zealand side. I think he needs to change his shoes as his feet is going nowhere. On a serious note, he is struggling and possibly a part for it could be to do with another kind of mental block. He played a brilliant innings vs Australia at SCG last year and since then he has got a long run but there have not been many productive innings from his bat. My thinking is that, with Martin Guptill no more in scheme of things, he might feel he can have an even longer run but maybe this thought process needs to go for him to get moving and get some runs under the belt.
Looking at Allen’s form, it will be interesting to see what Black Caps do at the top order given the likes of Mark Chapman also in the squad. Chapman also provides you option of part-time off-spin. Dane Cleaver can be another interesting choice to try against India. He is a specialist wicketkeeper and batter in the side.
Watch out for Michael Rippon who is a spin-bowling all-rounder. They are all really good players. I am looking forward to watching Ben Lister, who is a big left-arm medium pace bowler, who bowls the in-dippers to the left-handed batter. Ish Sodhi has been such a specialist for Black Caps in the T20Is and his experience of bowling in India will come handy for sure to the Kiwis.
Real positives for New Zealand are the form of Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway. Lockie Ferguson plays in the IPL so knows the tricks of bowling in India. Daryl Mitchell showed glimpses of brilliance but needs to get better against spin.
New Zealand had a hard time in ODIs and what the crushing loss must have done is prepare them well for T20Is. They would be desperate to make a strong comeback and show better fight. But one must admit that hosts India will start as favourites in this T20I series as they are playing at home and have a really good side.
