New Zealand vs India 2020: India's ideal XI for the 1st T20I
After a hard-fought ODI series triumph against the Australian team at home, India will now tour New Zealand to participate in T20I, ODI and Test series. The tour will commence with the five-match T20 series, which will kick off on 24 January at Auckland.
The itinerary of the five-match T20I series is as follows:
1st T20I - Jan 24 (Friday) | Venue - Eden Park, Auckland | Start time - 12:30 PM (IST)
2nd T20I - Jan 26 (Sunday) | Eden Park, Auckland | Start time - 12:30 PM (IST)
3rd T20I - Jan 29 (Wednesday) | Venue - Seddon Park, Hamilton | Start time - 12:30 PM (IST)
4th T20I - Jan 31 (Friday) | Venue - Westpac Stadium, Wellington | Start time - 12:30 PM (IST)
5th T20I - Feb 02 (Sunday) | Venue - Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui | Start time - 12:30 PM (IST)
Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the series due to an injury issue, and talented wicketkeeping batsman Sanju Samson has been named as his replacement in the T20I squad. This means India will go into the series with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul as their primary openers.
Rahul and Rohit have been highly successful as a pair over the past year and have forged multiple hundred-run partnerships for the first wicket. The team management will hope that they display similar consistency levels during the upcoming series.
Virat Kohli will bat at his patented number 3 position and will look to anchor the innings. And Shreyas Iyer will follow him in the batting line-up at No. 4.
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Iyer faced a stern test against the Aussie quicks during the recently concluded ODI series. The Australian bowlers constantly troubled him through short-pitched bowling, so we can expect the Kiwis bowlers to use similar tactics in the T20 series. Iyer will look to counter these plans effectively and perform consistently with the bat.
In recent times, Kohli has openly stated that he likes the idea of Rahul as the team's wicket-keeper. He has gone on record to say that this combination will allow India to play an extra batsman, which in turn will help in attaining better overall team balance.
Therefore, Rishabh Pant might have to wait for a little while on the bench before getting a chance on this tour. India are likely to continue with Rahul as their wicket-keeper in the T20I series against New Zealand.
Manish Pandey is expected to play at the number five slot. Pandey is an experienced T20 campaigner and has played a crucial role in KKR's IPL winning campaigns in the past. He is expected to play the role of the primary finisher in the absence of Pant and Hardik Pandya.
Shivam Dube will be the floater in this XI. His role in the batting lineup will depend upon the match situation, but his power-hitting ability makes him a valuable asset to the side either way.
On the bowling front, India might go in with the same attack that played against Sri Lanka earlier this month. Mohammad Shami will make his return to India's T20I XI after missing the Sri Lanka series. Navdeep Saini and Jasprit Bumrah will share the pace-bowling responsibilities along with Shami.
New Zealand have quite a few right-handed batsmen in their middle-order, so the team management might opt for leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the first match. Chahal along with Washington Sundar will handle the spin bowling department.
Ideal XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dubey, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal