New Zealand vs India 2020: 4 milestones that could be achieved in the 5-match T20I series

India will kick-off their much-awaited tour of New Zealand with a 5-match T20I series on Jan 24. India will be feeling high after clinching an ODI series against Australia in their last assignment. Meanwhile, New Zealand will be feeling low after being thrashed Down Under in their previous assignment.

Since it is a long tour, injuries can play a vital role in deciding the winner. Shikhar Dhawan already ruled out of the T20I series, and now Ishant Sharma is likely to miss the Test series having picked up an injury in a Ranji Trophy match. On the other hand, New Zealand has lost a handful number of players (Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Seth Rance, Doug Bracewell, Adam Milne) to injury.

Despite the inavailability of several players, New Zealand can still pose a threat to the Indians with their home conditions advantage. Hence, once again a fierce, hard battle between these two teams is expected. Now, let us look at four milestones that could be achieved during the upcoming T20I series.

#1 Virat Kohli in quest of most MOM awards in T20Is

Virat Kohli with one of his several man-of-the-match trophies — Virat Kohli with one of his several man-of-the-match trophies

In India’s last T20I series against Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli sacrificed his usual no.3 slot and batted lower down the order. Since the next edition of T20 World Cup is only a few months away, Kohli has experimented with the batting order in the last series. Hence, it will be interesting to see whether Kohli continues with his experimentation or bat at no.3 in the series.

Also see – Under 19 world cup points table

Irrespective of the batting position, we can expect Kohli to continue his excellent run of form in the NZ series. In 78 T20Is, Kohli has scored 2689 runs with 24 half-centuries at the strike rate of 138.53. Besides, Kohli currently sits with Mohammad Nabi in the list of most man-of-the-match awards in T20Is with 12 awards. Since Kohli’s hunger for runs is well known, we can expect him to fare well in the NZ series and top the list.

Note: All statistics as of January 22, 2020

#2 Ross Taylor will become the 1st NZ player to play 100 T20Is

Ross Taylor is arguably one of the best players to emerge from the Kiwi nation. Mentored by the late Martin Crowe, Taylor has established a name for himself in all three formats of the game. Even at the age of 35, Taylor is still the backbone of the New Zealand middle-order.

Having made his T20I debut in 2006 against Sri Lanka, Taylor has played 95 T20Is so far. In 87 innings, Taylor has scored 1743 runs with five half-centuries at the strike rate of 121.88. Even though his T20I numbers look ordinary, Taylor is still a tremendous asset to this T20I side.

After a disappointing Test series against Australia, Taylor will look to bounce back strong in the upcoming T20I series against India. If not for any unfortunate injury, Taylor will become the first NZ player to play 100 T20Is at the end of the series. In the process, he will become the 3rd player in the history of T20I cricket to play 100 matches after Shoaib Malik and Rohit Sharma.

#3 Rohit Sharma nears 10,000 International runs as an opener

Rohit Sharma’s international career can be easily divided into two parts – before 2013 and post 2013. In other words, his career changed dramatically from the moment he opened the innings for India in the ODI series against England in 2013. He has been prolific ever since.

For the past six years, Sharma along with his fellow opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan, has dominated the world cricket in the limited-overs format. The Mumbai batsman has created several records and amassed double centuries (3) in ODIs for fun. His consistency at the top of the order makes him one of the premier openers in the history of the limited-overs format.

As an opener, he has scored 9937 runs in 216 international innings. In the upcoming T20I series, we can expect him to cross the 10,000 run mark and join the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virender Sehwag in the elite list. Besides, Rohit Sharma will also be the second-fastest Indian player to achieve this landmark after Sachin Tendulkar (214 innings).

#4 India might finally clinch a T20I series in New Zealand

It has been six months since India was knocked out by New Zealand in the ICC World Cup 2019. Still, the memories of the defeat are fresh in the minds of the majority of the Indian cricket fans. Just like that semi-final, New Zealand has always been a headache for the Indian cricket team. In particular, the men in blue always find it hard to defeat the Kiwis in the T20Is. They played 5 T20Is on New Zeland soil and have managed to win just one game.

Over the years, the two teams have competed in four bilateral series with each team hosting two apiece. Among the four, India has won only the 2017 home series and lost the rest. Barring the drawn T20I series against South Africa last year, India has won four of their recent five T20I series. Hence, we can expect India to compete hard in the upcoming series to maintain their winning streak. In the process, India can also win their first-ever T20I series in New Zealand.