Nagpur – New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss in the opening T20I and, without much hesitation, decided his side would chase. He looked around, tapped the surface once or twice, and described it as “a pretty good wicket”, expecting runs to flow.
With Michael Bracewell out nursing a calf strain, New Zealand have given 23-year-old seamer-all-rounder Kristian Clarke his first international cap. The visitors have gone with three frontline quicks and three spinners, banking on variation rather than sheer pace.
India would also have bowled had the coin fallen the other way, largely because dew is likely to settle in later. That said, Suryakumar Yadav – playing his 100th T20I – shrugged and insisted he was “happy to bat first”, viewing the situation as handy practice ahead of June’s T20 World Cup.
The hosts have shuffled things a touch. Ishan Kishan replaces Tilak Varma, offering a left-hand option in the top order and doubling as back-up wicket-keeper. Kuldeep Yadav and rookie quick Harshit Rana sit out, allowing India to keep batting depth all the way to No. 8, where Axar Patel is listed.
This is the final series for both sides before they head to the Caribbean and USA. Run-outs, death-over options and middle-order tempo are themes both camps want nailed down now rather than in June.
Teams
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.
New Zealand: Tim Robinson, Devon Conway (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (capt), Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.
First ball at 7 pm local, conditions fair and the outfield trimmed quick – a decent stage for the last dress rehearsal.
