India look to restore parity in series as New Zealand eye series win in the second T20I

India had a stuttering start to the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand and will be hoping to get their campaign back on track as the Ekana Sports City gears up for a Sunday night blockbuster.

The Indian top-order fizzled away in the flash of an eye, a moment in the game that made a ginormous run-chase even tougher in the opening chapter. However, with just one game gone, there is still a lot to look forward to, most importantly an opportunity to level the series. The Men in Blue will try and launch a full-blown assault upon the visitors with a possible couple of rotations that twist and turn the narrative in the Men in Blue’s favour.

However, the Kiwis have always produced a discerning presence in the shortest format of the game and will be hoping to emulate their form from the previous game. They have a pretty well-oiled batting unit with an abundance of hard-hitters in their side that can shuffle the game at any point in time. 

Friday was a glaring glimpse into how a single over could change the entire contest, allowing New Zealand to spring forth in their intimidating avatar. However, fathoming the depth of the sides by just one contest would not be wise and it is expected that a cracker will be awaiting us all on a glistening Sunday evening.

Venue Watch:

A total of 8 T20Is have so far been played at the Ekana Sports City and 5 of them have been secured batting first while 3 of them have been won while chasing. The average first innings score is a modest 157 while the average score while chasing is 129, thereby clearly underlining a deficit in the balance between the bat and the ball.

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 23

India: 10

New Zealand: 10

Match Details:

India vs New Zealand

Ekana Sports City, Lucknow

29th January 2023

7:00 PM IST

Squads:

India:

Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar.

New Zealand:

Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver (wk), Devon Conway (wk), Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner