3 player battles to watch out for in IND vs NZ 1st T20I

After a comfortable 3-0 win over the Kiwis in ODIs, India will now host New Zealand for a three-match T20I series starting on Friday, with the first game to be played at Ranchi.

The composition of both teams is a little different from what it was during the ODIs along with different captains too in Hardik Pandya and Mitchell Santner. With one eye on the build-up to the 2024 T20 World Cup, both teams will look to fine-tune their team combination and also give chances to some fresh faces.

However, there will also be some match-ups as both India and New Zealand have quality players who have faced off against each other before. On that note, let's take a look at three such match-ups that could determine the course of the game in Ranchi:

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#3 Devon Conway vs Arshdeep Singh

Devon Conway is arguably New Zealand's most important and prolific batter from the current T20I squad and is also in great form. He smashed a sensational hundred in Indore, albeit in a losing cause, and will be keen to replicate the form in T20Is as well.

Arshdeep Singh has had a mixed bag as far as his previous T20I series is concerned. He delivered five no-balls in a game against Sri Lanka and was highly expensive. However, the Indian left-arm pacer's comeback in the next game showed that he is a quick learner and will be keen to get back to his best.

Conway has smashed 19 runs off the six balls that he has faced from Arshdeep. However, the southpaw has also been dismissed once and this will keep the bowler interested. This makes it an even more intriguing match-up to look forward to.

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#2 Ishan Kishan vs Lockie Ferguson

Ishan Kishan's double-hundred for India last month seems like a distant memory as he has been a bit inconsistent in white-ball cricket of late. The southpaw failed to grab his chances in the middle order in the ODI series against the Kiwis.

Even in the shortest format, Ishan's record of late has been far from impressive. He averages just around 16 in his last 11 T20I innings at a modest strike rate of just around 117.

This rough patch of form is something Kiwi speedster Lockie Ferguson would like to exploit. Ferguson has already dismissed Ishan once in the ODI series and will be high on confidence when the duo face off against each other again. It will be interesting to see if Ishan can turn the match-up around and dominate Ferguson.

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#1 Suryakumar Yadav vs Mitchell Santner

Suryakumar Yadav is undoubtedly in the purple patch of his career when it comes to T20 cricket and has already started 2023 with a bang, smashing a hundred against Sri Lanka in the previous T20I series.

India's T20I vice-captain has also recently won the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year, thanks to his incredible exploits in 2022. Probably the only area where SKY has been a bit dicey has been while facing left-arm spin and his numbers against Mitchell Santner suggest exactly the same.

Santner has bowled 34 deliveries to Yadav in T20 cricket, conceding 35 runs, and has also dismissed the star batter twice. SKY won't hold himself back from scoring freely and Santner is too smart a bowler to not depend on his variations. This is certainly a mouthwatering contest to watch out for.