New Zealand v India 1st T20i

Tip Summary

• New Zealand lost to Pakistan by seven wickets in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
• India also failed to lift the trophy as they suffered a brutal loss against England in the semi-final by ten wickets. 
• So far, the two teams have locked horns in 21 T20 Internationals with India winning 11 games. 

Ahead of the three-match T20I series, India and New Zealand are sailing in the same boat. The two teams will be gutted after failing to play the final in the T20 World Cup 2022 as they topped their respective group’s points table. Therefore, India’s white-ball tour to New Zealand will be a redemption tour for both sides. Sky Stadium in Wellington will host the first T20 International of the three-match series on November 18, Friday. 

New Zealand collected seven points in the league round of the ICC event. They topped the Group 1 points table to clash with Pakistan in the semi-final. The knockout match did not go as per the plan for the Blackcaps, as their batting suffered a collapse. The team posted a poor total of 152 runs to register a loss by seven wickets.

India were also horrible in their semi-final outing against England. The Men in Blue saw a torrid performance by the bowlers as they failed to defend 168 runs. None of the Indian bowlers picked any wickets as they lost by ten wickets. Interestingly, India had topped the Super 12 Group 2 points tally with four wins from five matches. 

New Zealand will have an edge in the series as they have all the players available for the selection. India, on the other hand, will be playing against the Kiwis under the leadership of Hardik Pandya as Rohit Sharma has been rested. Also, other senior players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah will be absent from the team.