It is one of Virat Kohli’s most important games as captain. If he loses this match, he will effectively retire from T20I captaincy without an ICC trophy to show for it. More crucially, a loss for India will detract significantly from the tournament’s luster. No India has spent half of its money, and it will be a nightmare for the ICC. In every way, the T20 World Cup encounter between India and New Zealand is a simulated knockout, and the stakes couldn’t be greater.
India is likely to field the same lineup as last year. They are convinced that the Pakistan game was an outlier. They have also planned for a ‘loss of toss’ situation. While there was some speculation about Ravichandran Ashwin participating. Especially with so many left-handed players in the New Zealand side, Varun Chakravarthy may have another chance to shine.
Jasprit Bumrah
Quick bowlers, on the other hand, are a cause of concern. Jasprit Bumrah is India’s lone consistent fast bowler, while Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have hot and cold spells. As a result, Bhuvneshwar hasn’t been at his best, and as a pace bowler. He has to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible.
Unless Bhuvneshwar is the old Bhuvneshwar, the bowling lacks bite. Forcing the batting unit to compensate for a weak bowling department. Hardik Pandya is also anticipated to bowl at least two overs, providing Kohli with the flexibility he requires in such a crucial encounter.
India’s record versus New Zealand isn’t terrific, but as we saw with the Pakistan game, records don’t signify much. It was nicely said by a member of the Indian contingent.
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