The opening game was abandoned without a ball bowled (no toss) because of persistent rain. Both sides will be looking for a win to set up the decider in Napier.
Pitch and Weather report:
Spinners have done relatively well at this venue as compared to pacers. The average first-innings total in seven completed T20Is at the Bay Oval is 199, and all games have been won by the team batting first. Thunderstorms are forecasted on the match day, so there could be a rain-curtailed game.
Probable XIs:
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson
India: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer/Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
Recent form:
New Zealand: LWLWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
India: LWWLW
What they said:
“We’ve had a whole heap of T20 cricket in the past. We’re quite excited to play India, irrespective, though. The likes of Adam Milne were in the T20 World Cup squad but didn’t get an opportunity, so this is a good time to get them some game time,” New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson had said after the 1st T20I was washed out.
“I know the other boys will follow exactly what the management and captain would say, they are all professionals. These guys are young by age but not by experience. They have played plenty of IPL and got a good amount of Internationals as well,” said Indian captain Hardik Pandya.
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