New Zealand host India in the third of the five-match T20I series at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday, October 27. The visitors have already taken a 2-0 lead in the series after victories in the first two matches in Christchurch. If the Kiwis do not respond in this encounter, they will lose all chances of making a comeback in the series. Therefore, this is a do-or-die encounter for New Zealand. So far, they have struggled to come to terms with the Indian batting unit. Shreyas Iyer's men have consistently found heroes in the batting unit, be it Naman Dhir in the first match or Tilak Varma in the second.
The top-order, too, has fired, albeit reluctantly. The bad news of Ishan Kishan missing out due to injury will hurt the Indians. Yet, this will provide an opportunity for the young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to showcase his wares. For the Kiwis, Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell, two of their most experienced batters, need to take more responsibility. Phillips, who scored 70 in the second match, has already shown what he is capable of. Bevon Jacobs, whose 58 helped New Zealand put up a big total in the second game, is another player who will have to be more consistent with his contributions.
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, Blair Tickner.
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Key Players
Mitchell Santner (NZ): Captain Mitchell Santner is one of the most underrated players in the current New Zealand unit. He impressed everyone by picking up four wickets in the second match in Christchurch, albeit in a losing cause. The left-arm spinner has played a lot of cricket in the Indian Premier League, and therefore knows the weaknesses of the Men in Blue. Santner is a classical left-arm spinner shaped after Kiwi legend Daniel Vettori. He has a free-flowing action and releases the ball after pivoting nicely at the crease. Santner's deliveries make him hard to pick after the ball pitches. This explains his success even against the Indians, who are generally comfortable against spin. His secret weapons are the arm ball and the one that skids through after pitching at a back of a length.
Nitish Kumar Reddy (IND): All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is one of the most important cogs in the Indian wheel. The Men in Blue have seldom had top-quality seam-bowling all-rounders in their ranks. While Kapil Dev was renowned for his abilities in the 80s, very few seam-bowling all-rounders have surfaced in the country since then. Hardik Pandya was an encouraging option, but injuries have deterred him from fulfilling his potential. Nitish Reddy, therefore, is seen as an upcoming star by most Indians. His ability to hit the deck hard when bowling and then walking out to bat and clearing the ropes comfortably makes him an incredible choice. Reddy appears to be built precisely for T20 cricket, since he can bowl four quick overs before concentrating on striking the ball as far as possible when batting. He is an all-rounder in the Andrew Flintoff mould.
Match Prediction
India have an upper hand over their opponents and are backed to win. With a 2-0 lead in the series, Iyer's men have shown that they should not be treated as mere pushovers even away from home. India's superiority lies in the fact that they barely got time to train and acclimatise to the swinging conditions of New Zealand. Yet, they put on an unbelievable show in the first two matches. However, their bowling unit appears a bit undercooked, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar expected to take on more responsibility. On the other hand, their batters have delivered unfailingly.