One won’t disagree with the fact that New Zealand have looked clueless in the ongoing T-20 series against the Men in Blue. A very uncharacteristic performance is what you would call from the Blackcaps, lacking the competitive nature that they are known for.
How often would you see a side like New Zealand losing three matches in a row, that too in their own conditions? Perhaps, a lot of credit should be given to India for not letting their foot off the pedal since the first –t20 win at Auckland.
India have won all three matches that have been played thus far in the 5 T-20 match series. And with the third win, India have now registered their first T20 series win in New Zealand. They will look to win the next two and whitewash them 5-0.
With the scores of 7 and 8 in the first and second T20, India’s vice-captain, Rohit Sharma was expected to score big in the third game and boy he did in style, first playing a stellar 40-ball 65 run knock and then smacking two sixes in the super over to win the game for India. Perhaps, it will be no less than impossible for New Zealand to get past top-4 out too early in the fourth game, given the kind of form they are in.
However, with the series already won by India, Virat Kohli would be tempted to make a few changes in the line-up. The skipper, in fact, hinted two changes after the third T20 win, with Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini both likely to get a game on Friday.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja might be rested in the third ODI, while Navdeep Saini is likely to replace Shardul at Wellington. It will also be interesting if Rishabh Pant gets a game or not.
Here’s a look at India’s predicted eleven:
- KL Rahul
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli (C)
- Shreyas Iyer
- Manish Pandey
- Shivam Dube
- Washinton Sundar
- Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Shami
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Navdeep Saini
New Zealand fought hard in the third T-20 and almost won the game, however, Shami’s brilliant last over and then Rohit Sharma’s heroics in the super over meant the Blackcaps will have to wait for another game to get off the blocks in the series.
With Southee going for plenty, New Zealanders are, unarguably, missing their speedsters in Boult and Lockie Ferguson and given that the duo won’t be available for the entire series, it won’t be easy for the Blackcaps to register a single win in the series.
Nevertheless, New Zealand would still be hoping to try and win the next two T20s. Williamson played a gem of an innings in the last game, scoring 95 runs off just 48 balls but couldn’t win the game for the team in the end. He would be hoping to take his team home in the next two games and salvage some pride for the side.
Perhaps, the skipper would be disappointed with opener Martin Guptill, who despite getting starts in the series hasn’t been able to convert them into big scores. His scores in the series read: 30, 33, 31. He would also be hoping to score a big innings on Friday.
Colin Munro poor run in the series could make way for Seifert at the top of the order. It will be interesting to see if the team would still persist with Munro as their first choice opener in the fourth T20 or would they make a change in the combination.
Lack of resources in the bowling department would mean New Zealand will go with the same bowling line up, hoping that they display a better performance ahead of the fourth T20I at Wellington.
Here’s a look at New Zealand’s Predicted Eleven:
- Martin Guptill
- Tim Seifert
- Kane Williamson (C)
- Ross Taylor
- Colin de Grandhomme
- Daryl Mitchell
- Mitchell Santner
- Tim Southee
- Scott Kuggelejin
- Ish Sodhi
- Hamish Bennett
