New Zealand take on India in the fourth T20I of the series between the teams at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, October 30. India have already won the series by beating the Kiwis in the first three encounters. The visitors have taken a 3-0 lead now. The remaining two games may encourage New Zealand to give their youngsters a chance to prove themselves. They have already decided upon a workload management program in which they are going to rotate their seamers.
India, on the other hand, have played with their full-strength side so far. They are expected to continue doing the same. Indian fans have lauded Shreyas Iyer’s leadership skills as he has regularly taken his bowlers’ needs into account before setting his fields. Although India’s bowling department was seen by some pundits to be their Achilles’ heel, the performances of their batters have assured them of victory each time. No matter how poorly India’s bowlers perform, their batters have rescued them every time.
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, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh.
Key Players
Tim Seifert (NZ): Although Tim Seifert failed to deliver with the bat in the third match, the Indians know how dangerous he can be once he gets set. The wicketkeeper-opener has been a prized asset in the Indian Premier League, too, where he plies his trade for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Seifert is an explosive player who can get going right from the beginning. He likes to take the attack to the opposition and can cause a lot of damage to their seam bowling options. New Zealand must have recognised the fact that to beat India, they will have to out-bat them. This can be achieved since the Indian bowling unit has failed to gel well and deliver under pressure in these Kiwi conditions so far. If Seifert launches an early attack, the Indians will find it challenging to keep him quiet.
Abhishek Sharma (IND): If any proof were needed of what Abhishek Sharma can do to opposition bowlers, the third T20I showed that. India were able to chase down New Zealand’s competitive 199 inside 14 overs thanks to Sharma’s 38-ball 113! The southpaw simply went berserk against the Kiwi bowlers and could not be stopped. The opener took the help of nine boundaries and 11 sixes in his innings, exploiting spaces across the field and toying with the lines and lengths of the New Zealand bowlers. Sharma is currently one of the toughest batters to bowl to in T20 cricket. Unless New Zealand get him out cheaply inside the powerplay, they can bid goodbye to their hopes of containing India. Sharma is adept against pace, especially as he can cut and pull the ball with ease, unlike most traditional Indian batters.
Match Prediction
India are the favourites to win. The defending world champions have an extraordinary squad with immense strength in their batting unit. Be it while batting first or while chasing a total, the Indians can score as much as, or more than, their opponents. New Zealand, quite simply, do not have as much depth as India do in T20 cricket. The Men in Blue have been on a roll, winning the Asian Games gold medal, then drawing against the West Indies and now wrapping the series up against New Zealand away from home.
