India did well in the opening match to claim the contest by five wickets. However, it wasn’t as convincing a win as it seemed it would be at one stage. Chasing 165, they were cruising at 144 for 2 courtesy Rohit Sharma’s 48 and Suryakumar Yadav. However, India lost a few wickets at a stretch and failed to find the boundaries, which brought the equation to 10 off the last over. Rishabh Pant took India home with a run-a-ball 17.
India’s bowling was also a mixed bag. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/24) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/23) were highly impressive. However, Deepak Chahar (1/42) and Mohammed Siraj (1/39) were expensive while Axar Patel (0/31) looked ineffective.
There were some positives for New Zealand in the defeat. Martin Guptill (70) and Mark Chapman (63) hit fine fifties. With the ball, Trent Boult claimed 2 for 31 while Mitchell Santner kept things extremely tight with figures of 1 for 19. Skipper Tim Southee and Todd Astle were way too expensive though. They will have to get their act together for the second T20I.
With Mohammed Siraj having split his webbing in his left hand, Harshal Patel or Avesh Khan might get a chance to make their India debut.
India’s predicted XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal PateL
Astle was costly against India so the Kiwis might look to bring back Ish Sodhi.
New Zealand’s predicted XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Siefert (WK), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee (C), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Top fantasy picks for India vs New Zealand 2nd T20I: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Martin Guptill, Mark Chapman, Trent Boult
--Renin Wilben Albert