- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,577
Purely going by recent numbers, it's a no brainer to have Prithvi Shaw opening the innings for India in T20Is. But Ishan Kishan's contributions in the shortest format last year in the matches at home and Shubman Gill's meteoric rise in ODI cricket over the last 12 months have forced the management to give these two youngsters a chance after sidelining Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. However, they haven't been able to grab the opportunity so far in the four games India have played in T20I cricket in 2023.
Kishan made a scratchy 37 at the Wankhede against Sri Lanka and Gill came up with a not-so-fluent 46 against the same opposition in Rajkot. Apart from that, both the batters have failed to get going in the other three games, including the one on Friday (January 27) against New Zealand in Ranchi in the same game where the New Zealand openers contributed a combined 87 off 58. While it's safe to say that India's new-look T20I side is slowly taking shape, their opening conundrum is far from settled.
While the futures of Rohit, Rahul and Virat Kohli in this format is up in the air, the calls for Shaw's inclusion continues to grow louder especially with Kishan and Gill finding it hard to nail down their spots. Ruturaj Gaikwad getting ruled out of the series at the last minute should make things easier for the management in terms of handing Shaw a chance. But will it come on Sunday in Lucknow? If it doesn't, then it's fair to say that it might come at least in the final game of the series if Gill and Kishan fail to make an impact again in the second T20I.
India will also hope for a better performance with the ball in the second game if they are to level the series. While the spinners did their job, every single pacer was taken apart in Ranchi. New Zealand on the other hand would be buoyed with their performance especially after failing to win a single ODI on the tour. Daryl Mitchell, who struggled for runs so far, came up with a vital knock and Mitchell Santner appeared to be unplayable on that surface. If they do manage to put up a repeat performance, it will go down as a terrific result given India rarely fail to collect trophies at home.
When: India vs New Zealand, January 29, 7 PM local time
Where: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
What to expect: Temperatures are expected to be cooler during the game. Both captains were surprised by the amount of turn that was on offer in Ranchi but things could be different in Lucknow. The last time this venue hosted a T20I was around 11 months ago in a contest where India smashed 199/2. India and South Africa also played out a 40-over contest last October that saw both teams score over six an over.
Team News
India: The hosts will hardly contemplate making changes. Shivam Mavi and Umran Malik combined to send down just three overs and Kuldeep Yadav was impressive again. Prithvi Shaw may have to wait for his turn.
Predicted XI - Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand: The visitors are expected to go in with an unchanged XI as well.
Predicted XI - Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner
Squads:
India Squad: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Prithvi Shaw, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jitesh Sharma, Mukesh Kumar
New Zealand Squad: Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner, Henry Shipley, Michael Rippon, Dane Cleaver, Ben Lister
Kishan made a scratchy 37 at the Wankhede against Sri Lanka and Gill came up with a not-so-fluent 46 against the same opposition in Rajkot. Apart from that, both the batters have failed to get going in the other three games, including the one on Friday (January 27) against New Zealand in Ranchi in the same game where the New Zealand openers contributed a combined 87 off 58. While it's safe to say that India's new-look T20I side is slowly taking shape, their opening conundrum is far from settled.
While the futures of Rohit, Rahul and Virat Kohli in this format is up in the air, the calls for Shaw's inclusion continues to grow louder especially with Kishan and Gill finding it hard to nail down their spots. Ruturaj Gaikwad getting ruled out of the series at the last minute should make things easier for the management in terms of handing Shaw a chance. But will it come on Sunday in Lucknow? If it doesn't, then it's fair to say that it might come at least in the final game of the series if Gill and Kishan fail to make an impact again in the second T20I.
India will also hope for a better performance with the ball in the second game if they are to level the series. While the spinners did their job, every single pacer was taken apart in Ranchi. New Zealand on the other hand would be buoyed with their performance especially after failing to win a single ODI on the tour. Daryl Mitchell, who struggled for runs so far, came up with a vital knock and Mitchell Santner appeared to be unplayable on that surface. If they do manage to put up a repeat performance, it will go down as a terrific result given India rarely fail to collect trophies at home.
When: India vs New Zealand, January 29, 7 PM local time
Where: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
What to expect: Temperatures are expected to be cooler during the game. Both captains were surprised by the amount of turn that was on offer in Ranchi but things could be different in Lucknow. The last time this venue hosted a T20I was around 11 months ago in a contest where India smashed 199/2. India and South Africa also played out a 40-over contest last October that saw both teams score over six an over.
Team News
India: The hosts will hardly contemplate making changes. Shivam Mavi and Umran Malik combined to send down just three overs and Kuldeep Yadav was impressive again. Prithvi Shaw may have to wait for his turn.
Predicted XI - Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand: The visitors are expected to go in with an unchanged XI as well.
Predicted XI - Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner
Squads:
India Squad: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Prithvi Shaw, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jitesh Sharma, Mukesh Kumar
New Zealand Squad: Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner, Henry Shipley, Michael Rippon, Dane Cleaver, Ben Lister
