What happened the last time India played a T20I in Ahmedabad?

After a nervy four-wicket win in Lucknow on Sunday (January 29), Team India will look to seal the three-match series when they face New Zealand in the third T20I. The highly anticipated series-decider is scheduled to play at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 1.

So far, India have played a total of six T20Is in Ahmedabad, winning four and losing two.

Situated in the western part of the country, the stadium in Ahmedabad has red soil pitches and five black soil pitches at the venue. Compared to red soil pitches, which have a tendency to dry out quickly and favor spinners or slow bowlers, black soil pitches have better bounce.

Overall, Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium is a favorable scoring venue for 20-over matches. In T20Is, the average first innings score is 174, and the average second innings score is 166.

The last time Team India played a T20 international in Ahmedabad was in March 2021. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosted the entire five-match T20I series against England.

After the tightly contested series was leveled at 2-2, India and England locked horns for the fifth T20I at the same venue.

After losing the toss and being sent into bat, Team India posted a mammoth 224 for 2 on the board. Indian captain Virat Kohli moved up to open the innings as the hosts decided to drop KL Rahul, who was out-of-form in that series.

The last time when Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma played together v England in a T20I:

🏏Rohit Sharma - 64(34)
🏏Virat Kohli - 80*(52) https://t.co/JVWZKTton0

Kohli (80* from 52) and Rohit Sharma (64 from 34) featured in an opening stand of 94 in 9 overs. Suryakumar Yadav (32 from 17) and Hardik Pandya (39* from 17) played blazing cameos as India dominated England’s bowlers.

In response, Dawid Malan (68) and Jos Buttler (52) featured in an entertaining second-wicket stand of 130 for England. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 for 15) and Shardul Thakur (3 for 45) combined to keep the visitors down to 188 for 8.

A ruthless performance in the fifth T20I saw the Men in Blue trounce the Englishmen by 36 runs to clinch the five-match series 3-2.

India look to continue their dominance at home while New Zealand eye a rare series win on Indian soil

Mitchell Santner (L) and Hardik Pandya (R) posing with the T20I Trophy [Pic Credit: BCCI]

The stakes will be a bit high in the upcoming fixture as the three-match T20I series is currently leveled at 1-1. While New Zealand put up a clinical performance to defend their 176-run total in Ranchi, India scraped through a tight six-wicket win in Lucknow to make a comeback in the series.

If New Zealand manage to get past the Men in Blue on Wednesday, it will be their first-ever three-match bilateral series win in India in any format. Apart from a one-off T20I in 2012, the visitors have not won a bilateral series across any format in India.

#TeamIndia vice-captain @surya_14kumar describes his excitement ahead of playing in front of a packed crowd in the #INDvNZ T20I decider at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium 🏟️ in Ahmedabad, where he made his international debut 😃👌🏻 https://t.co/Nu2shQUIxG

However, if the Hardik Pandya-led side do come out as triumphs, it would only extend their ascendency at home. India have protected their stronghold with ridiculous consistency.

Over the last ten years, they have played a total of 55 bilateral series, across formats, and won 47 of them. Only Australia in 2019 and South Africa in 2015 have beaten India in India. They are also currently on a 12-series unbeaten streak in T20Is at home.