India vs New Zealand, 2nd T20I: Preview, stats, and more
India and New Zealand will square off in the second of three-match T20I series on Friday. The match will be held at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. Team India leads the series 1-0 after winning the series opener by five wickets. Meanwhile, the Kiwis would want to bounce back in order to stay alive. Here is the match preview.
Why does it matter?
Team India eyes another win against New Zealand in order to seal the T20I series. This would be the first series win for Rohit Sharma as India's full-time T20I captain. The Indian opener took over the mantle form Virat Kohli, who had opted out of the series. Kohli had earlier announced that he will leave the T20I captaincy after the conclusion of T20 WC.
Key details about the match
The JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi will host the second T20I. It will begin at 7:00 PM IST. Batters enjoy playing on this venue as it offers a flat deck. Meanwhile, the spinners can be in action due to longer boundaries. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on Disney+ Hotstar.
India will play their third T20I in Ranchi
India will play only their third T20I in Ranchi. They won the previous two against Australia and Sri Lanka. The average first innings score on the venue is 157. Notably, India scored 196/6 here against Sri Lanka in the 2016 T20I.
India likely to go with the same XI
Although the first T20I went down to the wire, India looked comfortable in the run-chase. Splendid knocks from Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav set up the victory. Unless there are injury concerns, skipper Rohit is expected to play the same XI. Probable XI: Rohit (captain), Rahul, Suryakumar, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj.
Ish Sodhi could be back in the XI
Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi is expected to be back in the NZ XI. Tod Astle, who replaced him in the first T20I, conceded 34 runs in three overs. It remains to be seen if NZ rope in all-rounder James Neesham. Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wicket-keeper), Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee (captain), Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Martin Guptill set to overtake Virat Kohli (T20I runs)
Senior opener Martin Guptill (3,217) is set to overtake Virat Kohli (3,227) in terms of T20I runs. He requires 10 runs to become the leading run-scorer in the format. Notably, Rohit Sharma is the only other batter to have scored in excess of 3,000 T20I runs (3,086). Besides, Guptill can also complete 20 half-centuries in the format.
