The Indian team has reached New Zealand for a full fledged series after beating a resurgent Australia on their soil 2-1. The Indian team will begin their first overseas tour of the year with the T20 series, starting in Auckland on Friday. Troubled by the injury of experienced players, Team India will try to improve its previous record in New Zealand’s condition.
India’s record in T20 format in New Zealand has been below par in the past and Virat Kohli’s team will want to change that.
Head to head record
A total of four bilateral T20 series have been played between India and New Zealand so far, in which the Kiwi team has eked their way ahead of India. Out of the four series, India has won only one series and the black caps have managed to win on three occasions. The Indian team is yet to win a T20 series in New Zealand.
A total of 11 T20 matches have been played between the two countries so far, in which the Indian team has won only three matches. Out of these three wins, India has won two matches at home. At the same time, the Kiwi team has won eight matches in total.
India’s only T20 victory in New Zealand came in 2019, when the reign of the team was handed over to Rohit Sharma after Virat Kohli was rested. India had lost two matches of the series, but they managed to win the third T20 at Eden Park in Auckland.
Indian team: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur.
New Zealand Team: Kane Williamson (Captain), Hamish Bennett, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
De Grandhomme will be available in the first, second and third match, while Tom Bruce will mark his availability in the fourth and fifth match.
