India vs New Zealand 1st T20: 3 reasons why India start as the favourites

The Indian Cricket team will start their first overseas tour of the year with a 5-match T20 series against New Zealand that commences on January 24th. The ‘Men in Blue’ will play 5 T20Is, 3 ODIs and 2 Tests against the Kiwis, a tour that will last around 45 days.

The Indian side has been in excellent form in limited-overs cricket, and they will try to continue their good run on this challenging tour of New Zealand as well. The India team is blessed with several match-winners and the Kiwis will run into one of the best limited-overs sides in world cricket today.

With the first T20 starting tomorrow, let us look at three reasons why India will start as the favourites.

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#3. The Formidable combination of Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Rohit and Kohli are two of the greatest batsmen of the modern era.

The New Zealand bowlers will be staring at two of the greatest limited-overs batsmen of the modern era in the form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Rohit Sharma is the only man in the world to have hit a stunning four centuries in the shortest format of the game at the international level. And, Rohit is coming into the series on the back of a magical hundred against Australia in the third ODI. Rohit is also the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is, with a colossal 2633 runs to his name.

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Then, there is batting maestro, Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper is only 31 years old but is already considered by many as one of the greatest limited-overs batsmen of all time. Kohli is the highest run-scorer (2689) in T20 cricket and also has the most number of fifties (24) in the shortest format. The Indian skipper was in rollicking form in the ODI series against Australia, scoring two fifties and winning the player of the series award as well.

And, Rohit has a reasonable record in New Zealand. The 'Hitman' has scored four fifties in the land of the Kiwis at an average of 36 in ODI cricket. On the other hand, Kohli has been in scintillating form whenever he has toured New Zealand. The master batsman has scored 521 runs in New Zealand in ODI cricket at an average of 57.89, including a hundred and three fifties.

The Kiwi bowlers will indeed have their task cut out in the first T20, and if they do not scalp these two legendary batsmen early, they will be in for a leather hunt.

#2. An excellent bowling attack

Bumrah’s awkward action coupled with his accuracy makes him an asset for skipper Kohli.

The Indian cricket team has one of the most balanced bowling line ups in world cricket today. There is the uncanny Jasprit Bumrah, who with his ability to extract extra bounce off the deck can pose challenges to even the best of batsmen. Bumrah’s awkward action, coupled with his immaculate accuracy makes him an asset for the Indian team

Then, there is Mohammad Shami. Shami’s ability to swing the ball both ways coupled with his ability to bowl toe crushing yorkers at the death makes him one of the most feared bowlers in the world. Kuldeep Yadav’s ability to get the ball to drift, in addition to getting the ball to turn sharply makes him extremely difficult to face, especially in the middle overs.

To complement the leg-spin of Kuldeep, there is Ravindra Jadeja, who turns the ball the other way. Jadeja’s accuracy is his biggest strength, and he is someone who can put the brakes on the New Zealand batting line up.

All in all, India has a well-balanced bowling unit that can cause a lot of trouble to the Kiwi batsmen.

#1. The flexibility that KL Rahul offers

KL Rahul provides plenty of flexibility to the Indian batting line up

KL Rahul adds excellent balance to the Indian side. If there is any opener injured, he can come up the order and play some crisp shots when the field restrictions are still on. Rahul showed in the T20 series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka that he is a man who can be a long term investment for the Indian team. While he scored a gargantuan 164 runs in the series against the West Indies, the youngster was equally impressive in the series against Sri Lanka as well, blasting 99 runs in the two innings that he played.

And, after the return of Shikhar Dhawan into the side, Rahul came in at No.5 in the second ODI against Australia, and it was his whirlwind knock of 80 off just 52 balls that turned the momentum in favour of the Indian team. In Rahul, India has a man who can open if the need arises, and at the same time come lower down the order and propel the scoring rate.

And as if that is not all, he can even don the wicket keeping gloves and do a tidy job behind the stumps.