India have chosen to chase in the second T20I in Raipur, captain Suryakumar Yadav winning a toss both skippers admitted they wanted. With dew already gathering on the outfield, India felt the safer option was to put New Zealand in first and keep the ball dry for their own pursuit later on.
Two enforced tweaks headline the home XI. Axar Patel’s bruised finger, picked up in Nagpur, ruled him out, while Jasprit Bumrah has been wrapped in cotton-wool for the night. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav returns, and seamer Harshit Rana slots in at No. 8, preserving India’s lengthy batting line-up.
New Zealand have freshened up too. Tim Seifert replaces Tim Robinson at the top, Zak Foulkes comes in for Kristian Clarke, and Matt Henry, fit again, nudges out Kyle Jamieson. Mitchell Santner leads a side that still trails 1-0 in the five-match series.
This fixture is India’s 100th men’s T20I on home soil but only the second to be staged in Raipur. The square boundaries, both 68 metres, promise value for cuts and pulls, while the 75-metre straight rope offers bowlers a little insurance.
India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.
New Zealand XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (capt), Matt Henry, Zak Foulkes, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.
Series score: India lead 1-0.
