India Tour of New Zealand 2019: India's predicted playing XI for the 2nd T20I
In what could be called the biggest shock of India's tour of New Zealand, the Indian Cricket team was thumped to an 80 run defeat by New Zealand in the first T20I at Wellington. Winning the toss was the only thing which went right for India's stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma as he elected to bowl first.
Things didn't go well for the visitors right from the start as New Zealand's openers Colin Munro and Tim Seifert played with attacking intent. The Black Caps rode on Seifert's splendid knock of 84 and Scott Kuggelejin's timely cameo of 20 runs from mere 7 balls to post a mammoth total of 219.
Chasing a daunting total of 220, Rohit Sharma got out cheaply for a solitary run. Though India's chase was steadied by Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar, India never really managed to keep the scoreboard ticking. The middle-order batsmen failed miserably as they got out in quick succession as the side was eventually bowled out for a meager 139 runs in 19.2 overs.
With the next T20I against New Zealand at Auckland being a must-win match for the Indian team, it is expected that the team will make quite a few changes in order to get back to winning ways. Here, we take a look at India's predicted playing XI for the second T20I against New Zealand.
Openers
Rohit Sharma
India's stand-in skipper, Rohit Sharma hasn't managed to get going since the 4th ODI against New Zealand and has scored only 10 runs from his last 3 innings. However, being the skipper and considering his form over the last 12 months in the limited overs format, he will definitely be a part of the playing XI.
Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan played a decent knock of 29 runs in the first T20I against New Zealand. However, if there is one thing he needs to rectify, it is his failure to convert starts into big knocks. If Dhawan manages to stay at the crease for a longer time, he will surely set the tone for a great total. Given his record in the ICC tournaments, team management will look to give him as many matches as possible before the World Cup, thus, Dhawan will definitely be a part of the XI in the next match.