India vs New Zealand, T20 World Cup – Cricket Match Prediction, Fantasy XI Tips & Probable XI

In the 28th match of the T20 World Cup, India will face New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. Head-to-count between these two giants in T20I stands tied at 8-8. However, India has a streak of losing against New Zealand in ICC tournaments. 

IND v NZ: Match Details

• Date – Sunday, October 31, 2021
• Time – 7:30 PM IST
• Venue – Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

IND v NZ Match Preview:

India had a horror start to their first match in the Super 12 stage against arch-rivals Pakistan, where Indians were handed a 10-wicket defeat. In this match, apart from Skipper Virat Kohli, none of the other batters were able to stand their crease and face the Pakistani bowlers. A lot of hopes ride on the batting gems like KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav. It'd be interesting to see if Ishan Kishan who's in red hot form gets a place in the playing XI or not. 

Indian bowling attack needs to strike back after they were unable to take a single wicket against Pakistan. Experienced bowlers like Mohammad Shami & Jasprit Bumrah may come out with all guns blazing in this all important match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has been out of touch for a long time may be replaced by all-rounder Shardul Thakur. In the spin department, it's still unclear who will play with Jadeja, though it's possible Varun Chakravarthy is given a place in the XI to get his rhytm in this T20 World Cup.

New Zealand is also coming in with a defeat against Pakistan in their first match in the Super 12 stage. NZ batters had a good start but weren't able to score big and ended up chipping in with small scores. Although, NZ batting lineup - Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson, James Neesham, Devon Conway & Glenn Phillips - are capable of smashing bowlers around the park. 

New Zealand bowling attack which is led by the dangerous experienced duo - Trent Boult & Tim Southee - didn't look as effective as their potential against Pakistan. However, Boult & Southee, accompanied by Neesham, Santner & Sodhi can trouble Indian batters.

BOULT FOR THE BLUES ➢ Trent Boult will be that threat against NZ and Rohit Sharma has been dismissed 3 times by him in T20 cricket. Rahul and Kohli though have fared well, scoring at 195 and 143 respectively against Boult without getting out often.



- kiran more (@kiranmore) 31 Oct 2021

IND v NZ Cricket Match Prediction:

New Zealand has dominated India in the ICC tournaments but at the moment, both teams look similar on paper and this match is due to be a close contest, as the winning team solidifies its chances to reach the semi-final stages.

IND v NZ Head-to-Head:

• Total – 16
• India – 8
• New Zealand – 8

IND v NZ Team News: 

There are no injury concerns in the Indian team as of now. Martin Guptill suffered a toe injury in the game against Pakistan and was doubtful about playing in the match against India but according to fresh updates, Guptill is set to open against India. 

IND v NZ Probable Playing XI:

• India - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
• New Zealand - Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Tim Seifert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult

IND v NZ Fantasy XI:

• Wicket-keeper - Rishabh Pant
• Batters - Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, KL Rahul
• All-rounders - Ravindra Jadeja, James Neesham
• Bowlers - Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy