- 6,068
- 3,428
- 189
When: New Zealand v India, 2nd T20I, January 26, 19:50 Local, 12:20 IST
Where: Eden Park, Auckland
What to Expect: "Slip slop, slap and wrap," is how a local newspaper describes the weather on Sunday to be - basically a slogan asking everyone in the city to protect themselves from the intense heat that's expected to surface for most parts of the day. The temperatures though might drop by the time the match starts and wears on, which could lead to the bowlers in the second innings in particular having to cope with dew on the field. Both Ross Taylor and Ish Sodhi though have also spoken about the pitch potentially slowing up a bit more, and that could at least make life a little difficult for the batsmen, who otherwise have little to bother about at Eden Park.
So expect even the fast bowlers to operate with a lot of cutters and knuckle balls. Slip, slop also described some of the fielding faux pas, and Sodhi, who dropped Kohli at a crucial stage, revealed how the lights in Auckland can make spotting the ball a rather challenging proposition. It couldn't be tougher than knowing what a good total could be to set for the opposition if you do end up batting first, which neither captain is likely to be keen to do.
Team News
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner is going through a difficult phase with his cricket. And his poor Test returns have now carried forward to a format which he's been really good at in recent years. But he should still retain his place with the pitch expected to get sluggish. Interestingly, it was the Kiwis' most experienced bowler who was taken to the cleaners while the likes of debutant Hamish Bennett and Blair Tickner were more economical. And that could mean, the hosts stick to an unchanged XI.
Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett, Blair Tickner.
India: The visitors too should find little reason for any alteration despite Jasprit Bumrah slipping in his last over and twisting his ankle slightly. Shardul Thakur was expensive but should get another go in Auckland unless the visitors feel the need for some extra pace and bounce in the form of Navdeep Saini. Shreyas Iyer's brilliant knock and useful contributions from Shivam Dube and Manish Pandey might convince the Indians that they could do without Thakur's boundary-clearning prowess in the death overs.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.
Teams:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul(w), Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar
New Zealand Squad: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert(w), Mitchell Santner, Blair Tickner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett, Daryl Mitchell, Scott Kuggeleijn
Where: Eden Park, Auckland
What to Expect: "Slip slop, slap and wrap," is how a local newspaper describes the weather on Sunday to be - basically a slogan asking everyone in the city to protect themselves from the intense heat that's expected to surface for most parts of the day. The temperatures though might drop by the time the match starts and wears on, which could lead to the bowlers in the second innings in particular having to cope with dew on the field. Both Ross Taylor and Ish Sodhi though have also spoken about the pitch potentially slowing up a bit more, and that could at least make life a little difficult for the batsmen, who otherwise have little to bother about at Eden Park.
So expect even the fast bowlers to operate with a lot of cutters and knuckle balls. Slip, slop also described some of the fielding faux pas, and Sodhi, who dropped Kohli at a crucial stage, revealed how the lights in Auckland can make spotting the ball a rather challenging proposition. It couldn't be tougher than knowing what a good total could be to set for the opposition if you do end up batting first, which neither captain is likely to be keen to do.
Team News
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner is going through a difficult phase with his cricket. And his poor Test returns have now carried forward to a format which he's been really good at in recent years. But he should still retain his place with the pitch expected to get sluggish. Interestingly, it was the Kiwis' most experienced bowler who was taken to the cleaners while the likes of debutant Hamish Bennett and Blair Tickner were more economical. And that could mean, the hosts stick to an unchanged XI.
Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett, Blair Tickner.
India: The visitors too should find little reason for any alteration despite Jasprit Bumrah slipping in his last over and twisting his ankle slightly. Shardul Thakur was expensive but should get another go in Auckland unless the visitors feel the need for some extra pace and bounce in the form of Navdeep Saini. Shreyas Iyer's brilliant knock and useful contributions from Shivam Dube and Manish Pandey might convince the Indians that they could do without Thakur's boundary-clearning prowess in the death overs.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.
Teams:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul(w), Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar
New Zealand Squad: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert(w), Mitchell Santner, Blair Tickner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett, Daryl Mitchell, Scott Kuggeleijn
