New Delhi: Ashish Nehra would have all the spotlight on him as India will look to win their maiden T20I against New Zealand, in the first fixture of the three-match T20I series, beginning at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday.
Nehra, who has had a career of injuries and comebacks, spanning for over 15 years had earlier said that he would retire from all forms of cricket after the first T20I against New Zealand in Delhi on November 1.
The Virat Kohli led Indian team have been pretty ruthless across formats and have defeated big teams like England, Australia, Sri Lanka to name a few but the one statistic which they would like to better is the fact that they are yet to beat the Kiwis in the shortest format of the game.
The Indians would like to give the veteran pacer a proper farewell and nothing short of a victory would be wonderful. They are the fifth ranked side in the ICC team rankings in T20Is and a 3-0 win can help them rise to the second spot while New Zealand, the number one ranked side in this format would also need a series win in order to maintain it’s top position.
Both India and New Zealand have had a lot of contests so far but the Men in Blue would want to improve on their embarrassing record against the Kiwis in T20Is and there could be no better chance to do it than this series. A side similar to that of the ODI series is likely to be named with the only change being the inclusion of Ashish Nehra.
Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah would be heading into the contest as the number one ranked players in the ICC rankings for T20I batsmen and bowlers. This would be a huge boost to them ahead of the first match since they already are in good form from the ODI series. While Kohli racked up two tons in three ODIs, it was Bumrah’s magic with the ball that helped India edge past New Zealand in the deciding match in Kanpur on Sunday.
Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, much like always is expected to open the innings and the young Shreyas Iyer might just be handed his international debut. Kuldeep Yadav, too could feature in the playing XI which would have the likes of Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal at the helm of affairs in the bowling department. Hardik Pandya’s performance is a threat to watch it for.
New Zealand too would field a side similar to that of the ODI series. While the opening combination of Colin Munro and Martin Guptill is going to have a say in the results, the likes of Tom Latham and Ross Taylor could win matches on their day and the Indians would be well aware of that. Also, the pace bowling department would be handled by Trent Boult and Tim Southee and the both of them have the capability to dismantle an opposition single-handedly on their day.
Squads-
India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee