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Despite having landed in New Zealand only a couple of days ago, the Indian team found a way to get the better of the Blackcaps in the first T20I.
India struggled with the ball early on but eventually managed to restrict New Zealand to a score that was chaseable on a ground with extremely short boundaries.
And then the Indian batting order showed its class, as two of the dynamic young players -- KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer -- scored half-centuries each to take the visitors over the line.
To start an overseas tour like that would have been a massive confidence booster for the Men in Blue and they would now want to capitalize on the win and enhance the lead further as they take to the field once again at the same venue tomorrow.
New Zealand are a very strong team in their own conditions and they will certainly be keen to bounce back. They will probably have to reconsider their game-plan though.
There was a little phase during the New Zealand innings in the first match wherein the hosts let Shivam Dube get away with a couple of economical overs.
That was the reason why, despite taking 97 off 7 overs bowled by India’s two specialist bowlers -- Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami, the Kiwis failed to get it past 203.
The hosts will probably like to ensure that they are a little pro-active against the part-time Indian bowlers in the second T20I.
Also see – IPL 2020 Teams
Match Details
Date: January 26, 2020 (Sunday)
Time: 12:20 PM (IST)
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Weather Forecast
Auckland will be partly cloudy on Sunday with humidity as high as 70%. However, the forecast says it won’t rain. There will be a little bit of breeze across the ground. The maximum and the minimum temperature during the day will be 25-degree Celsius and 19-degree Celsius respectively.
Pitch Report
The pitch in the first game was really flat and it’s not expected to be any different on Sunday. The ball will come on to the bat nicely and containing the batsmen will be almost impossible if the bowlers don’t get the breakthroughs early on in the innings.
With this being a small ground, it’s going to be hard for the team batting first to properly assess the par score for the day and set an ideal tempo. The captain winning the toss is likely to choose to field first.
Probable XI
India: Shardul Thakur was extremely expensive in the first game and with Navdeep Saini waiting in the wings, he might have to make way for the youngster.
Mohammed Shami was expensive as well, but he is someone who has been very accurate in terms of bowling his yorkers in recent times and one off-day would not cost him his place in the playing XI.
Saini for Thakur is the only change India are likely to make. The batting order will remain the same, with KL Rahul in charge of the wicket-keeping duties and Manish Pandey playing as an extra batsman.
Predicted XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand: Considering the size of the boundaries at Eden Park and the Indian batting line-up's efficiency against spin bowling, New Zealand might decide against going in with two spinners.
Since Ish Sodhi bowled a decent spell in the first game, he might retain his spot in the XI and Mitchell Santner might be left out for Daryl Mitchell, who is a seam-bowling all-rounder.
Predicted XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (C), Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner, Hamish Bennett
Prediction
The way India played in the first T20I, it seems they have got enough quality in their squad to win this series. They have come to New Zealand with a winning momentum as well, having won every limited-over series they played during their home season.
It might prove to be difficult for the Kiwis to stop the Men in Blue's winning run. The prediction is for India to win the match and enhance their lead to 2-0.
Broadcast details
TV: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 3
Online: Hotstar
