India and New Zealand meet each other in the first of a five-game T20I series at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday, October 22. India have named a strong squad for this series, especially as they are the defending world champions in this format. Shreyas Iyer will continue as captain after he helped his side to a 2-2 draw in a similar five-game T20I series against the West Indies at home.
Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Naman Dhir and Shivam Dube continue to be clutch players for India with the bat. Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who was dropped from the tour of Zimbabwe, has fought his way back into the squad, and now appears to be comfortable owing to his ability to deal with the new ball. Although he is known to be a technically skilful batter, Samson has often thrown caution to the winds and gone after fast bowlers whenever they have erred in the opening phases of a match.
India’s bowling unit will be helmed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who makes a return to the national squad for the first time in four years. Interestingly, the last game he played, in 2022, was in New Zealand. The Kiwis are not ill-equipped either. Batters Finn Allen, Glen Phillips and Devon Conway will be tasked with taking the Indian bowlers on. Captain Mitchell Santner has already made his plans clear by focusing on the middle overs, while seamers Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson will be asked to ramp up the pace to trouble the Indians.
Predicted Teams
NZ: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Blair Tickner, Kyle Jamieson.
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mayank Yadav.
Key Players
Glenn Phillips (NZ): All-rounder Glenn Phillips is among the most dangerous players in the current New Zealand setup. The best part of Phillips’ participation is that he does not shy away from any responsibility given to him by captain Santner. Whether it is building a partnership in the top five, or slogging balls out of the park at the death, or even chipping in with a few overs of off-break when his side needs a breakthrough, Phillips can do it all. Add to this his extraordinary fielding abilities, and you get an all-round cricketer who does his job quietly and never complains. India will need to pick his wicket up early.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (IND): Bhuvneshwar Kumar was rewarded for his consistency in the Indian Premier League with a place in the squad for the tour of New Zealand. He was also a part of the Indian XI in their final T20I against West Indies in Bengaluru, but rain played spoiler. Kumar picked up 28 wickets and led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the IPL 2026 title, and the selectors were pleased. His greatest ability is to get the ball to swing both ways when it is new. Among the modern generation of fast bowlers, Kumar is an exception in this sense. His focus remains solely on making the ball talk. He is a creative player and can be very dangerous in the first six overs.
Match Prediction
New Zealand have an edge in these conditions. India will take some time to get used to the seam and swing that will be on offer in Christchurch. Since they last played against the West Indies in Bengaluru on Saturday, October 17, the Indians need some time to get used to the bounce of the pitches in New Zealand. The home team will make good use of this inability of the visitors and romp to a comfortable victory. Getting this early win will help New Zealand take a lead in the series.
