New Zealand are set to take on a young team India in the 1st T20I today at Wellington.
New Zealand have named a strong squad, where Trent Boult and Martin Guptill are the only notable names missing. After a freak show against Australia, where Finn Allen scored 42 runs off just 24 balls and led the Kiwis to a good total, the New Zealand cricket board has shown faith in him and placed him in the T20I squad against India.
Glenn Phillips has been the top batter for New Zealand this year in T20Is, having smacked 650 runs at a strike rate of 155.13 while averaging 46.42. Devon Conway has scored 484 runs at an average of 48.40 while Finn Allen has 408 runs at a strike rate of 157.52. The Kiwi batters would present a strong challenge against the Indian bowling.
Spinner Ish Sodhi has been the top wicket-taker for New Zealand in T20Is this year with 26 wickets to his name in 20 matches. In the absence of Trent Boult, Blair Tickner has been given a spot in the team. The pace department comprises Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, and Tickner and would back themselves to take on any opposition in their home conditions.
Team India on the other hand has given rest to several regulars. As per reports, BCCI is planning on the split captaincy for T20I and other formats, and Hardik Pandya is being looked upon as the T20I regular captain. It will be a test of Pandya's leadership as a young team India plays a 3-match T20I series against New Zealand in New Zealand.
Names like Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer would have been itching to get to take the field for team India and would look to make the most of their opportunity. The #1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav has been in blazing form this year and will be a crucial middle-order batter for team India. Deepak Hooda has also shown form and it'll be exciting to see these young Indian batters in foreign conditions.
Umran Malik has returned to the T20I side and his fiery pace bowling would have every fan awaiting for his inclusion in the team. Along with him are IPL 2021's Purple Cap winner Harshal Patel, and India's highest wicket-taker in T20 World Cup 2022 - Arshdeep Singh. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Siraj complete the fast bowling department, while the spin will after a long time be headed by KulCha (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal).
