New Zealand meet India in the fifth and final match of the T20I series between the teams at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday, November 1. The series has already been decided, with the Indians running away as winners. This is an exceptional result for India, especially as it has come away from home. For New Zealand, the series will come as a wake-up call to delve deep into their core group of players. It will alsoprepare the next batch for the upcoming T20 World Cup cycle. The Kiwis, admittedly, do not have as much depth as the Indians in this format. Yet, they have historically been known to get the best out of their few resources.
India's bowlers have not performed as well as their batters in this series, but it has not bothered them. The fact is that their batting unit has been in top form and delivered every time they have been asked to step up. In the first match of the series, Naman Dhir rescued them with a lower-order performance, while Tilak Varma showed his qualities as a T20 batter in the second game. The third match was notable for the way Abhishek Sharma's century (113) allowed the Men in Blue to chase their hosts' target of 199 down inside 14 overs! The only way New Zealand can challenge the visitors is if they bat better than them and outscore them, either when batting first or while chasing. This series has scarcely seen stellar performances from bowlers.
Predicted Teams
NZ: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher.
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh.
Key Players
Adam Milne (NZ): Adam Milne is one of the few New Zealand seamers who has been spared the dubious workload management policy and allowed to continue playing. Milne is among the best fast bowlers the home team have produced in some time. He will be instrumental in challenging the Indians. New Zealand will have to force the Indians to resort to rotating the strike instead of hitting boundaries, and Milne's tight lengths will come in handy to fulfil this objective. The fast bowler is well known for his ability to execute yorkers. Captain Mitchell Santner will call upon Milne's services every time he feels the game slipping away from the home team's hands.
Axar Patel (IND): All-rounder Axar Patel is one of the most handy cricketers in this Indian side. The left-arm orthodox spinner can be used both inside the powerplay and at the death, since he has a lot of variety up his sleeve. He can slow the pace of his deliveries and force batters to use their feet, which brings the stumping mode of dismissal into play. Patel is an excellent addition to the Indian batting unit, too, especially as they appear to be a little undercooked in the lower order after Naman Dhir. The southpaw can go for big hits just as comfortably as he can rotate the strike. This makes him a man who can be relied on during times of trouble. His all-round abilities make him a vital member of this squad.
Match Prediction
India have the upper hand and are expected to coast to a comfortable victory. The Kiwis have flattered to deceive in this series. This series loss will pose a lot of questions for New Zealand and force them into soul-searching. One of the most questionable decisions the Kiwis made was resorting to a workload management policy when they were down 0-2 in the series. They chopped and changed their seam bowling unit, which hampered their momentum a lot. India, on the other hand, have functioned with their full-strength squad throughout this five-game series, and played exactly as the defending world champions should.