A mere three days since the ICC T20 World Cup final, New Zealand find themselves in Jaipur to lock horns against India. With the next T20 World Cup in Australia is less than a year away, India are head-starting their preparations with under a new captain, Rohit Sharma, and a new set of coaching staff, guided by new head coach Rahul Dravid.
The bubble life has already taking a toll on cricketers, as admitted by both camps prior to the three-match T20I series, to be followed by two Test matches. Kane Williamson has already opted out of the T20Is to prepare for the Tests. Tim Southee will lead New Zealand in his absence. India, too, have rested a few top multi-format players, including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja.
In his first press conference as full time head coach of Indian Senior Men, Dravid stressed on planning breaks for the players.
The conditions in Jaipur will be a bit identical to the UAE. Since it is an evening game, dew will be a cause of concern for both sides, just like the T20 World Cup. Countering the wet ball is going to be the biggest challenge for the both the captains.
Likely XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), K.L. Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), R. Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal.
New Zealand: Daryl Mitchell, Martin Guptill, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee (c), Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Fantasy tips
- Sodhi and Santner were New Zealand's premier wicket-takers in the T20 World Cup. However, on much better batting pitches in India, they may find it difficult to contain the batters. However, one can still back the attacking Sodhi to take quite few wickets.
- India will field a strong middle order. Many of the batters will be keen to get some runs and impress the selectors.
- Chapman is likely to replace Williamson in the New Zealand line-up.
Fantasy XI
Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan, K.L. Rahul, Rohit Sharma (vc), Suryakumar Yadav, Jimmy Neesham (c), Daryl Mitchell, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult