The Blackcaps defeated Men in Blue by 21 runs in the inaugural game and secured a (1-0) lead in the three-match leg. The second T20I will be a must-win game for India as if they fail to win, then New Zealand will take away the series, and the final game will eventually turn out to be a dead rubber.
Hardik Pandya-led side will look to avoid repeating the mistakes from the first match and improve their bowling performance, while Mitchell Santner captained New Zealand would seek to carry their momentum and seal the series.
World’s no.1 ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav and star all-rounder Daryl Mitchell who bagged the ‘Player of the Match’ award in the last game, are the names to watch out for from India and New Zealand.
Pitch Report:
The track at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow favours batters a bit more but will offer a decent amount of bounce and help the seamers as well. Meanwhile, spinners will also get support from the pitch as the game progresses.
The venue has so far hosted five matches with an average first-inning total of 172, and the team batting first has won all of them.
Probable XI:
India: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner
Head-to-head record:
India won: 03 | New Zealand won: 02 | Tied: 01
last six matches*
Match Prediction:
Case 1
- India wins the toss and bowls first
- Powerplay score: 35-45
- New Zealand total: 170-175
Case 2
- New Zealand wins the toss and bowls first
- Powerplay score: 40-50
- India total: 175-180
Team batting first to win the contest.
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