New Zealand vs India 2019: 3 key player battles in T20I series

The focus will now shift to the shortest version of the game. The one-day series was one-sided with India winning 4-1 and the visitors will look to continue their dominance in the T20Is. Though they have not lost a series since July 2017, it's likely to be more of a contest. The series starts February 6 in Wellington.

Here are the three player battles to look forward to during the T20 series.

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Colin Munro vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Colin Munro is one of the most explosive players in T20I format

Colin Munro had an indifferent ODI series for New Zealand, managing only 70 runs across four ODIs at an average of 17.50. But he will retain the opening slot for the T20Is. Ranked No 2 in the ICC T20I rankings, Munro has the second best strike-rate among batsmen who have scored at least 500 runs. He has three T20I centuries, one of which was against India. He was also recently adjudged the player of the tournament in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Batting at the top, Munro will have to face Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The savvy limited-overs operator possesses a wide range of bowling variations. Kumar will look to swing the ball and if swing is not available, he will vary the pace and use slower balls to challenge the southpaw. Kumar's acuity will be a test for Munro.

Shikhar Dhawan vs Tim Southee

Shikhar is the highest run scorer in T20Is since the start of 2018

Since the start of 2018, Shikhar Dhawan has been in blistering T20I form. With 689 runs, he is the highest scorer in this period and his runs have come at a strike rate of 147.22, higher than his career strike rate of 132.90. Owing to the quick starts provided by Dhawan, India have a win-loss ratio of 3.5 in this period, second only to Pakistan. Against New Zealand this tour, he scored two fifties to start of the ODIs, but struggled in final three games because of poor footwork against the moving ball.

With Trent Boult rested, Tim Southee will be back in playing 11. He will look to challenge Dhawan with fuller deliveries that swing away. Dhawan will have to be careful at the start of the innings, especially after swing jolted India’s top order in last two ODIs.

MS Dhoni vs Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi

MS Dhoni has struggled against spinners

2019 begun on a positive note for MS Dhoni with three consecutive half-centuries against Australia after failing to register a single score of fifty in 2018. Dhoni is back in India's T20I squad after he was left out to play the West Indies and Australia. But Dhoni has struggled to rotate strike again, especially against spinners.

New Zealand spin duo Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi will look to exploit this shortcoming in the T20s. Santner will look to target Dhoni’s pads to deprive him of room, while Sodhi's variations can also be a challenge. Dhoni could try and use his his long stride fowrard to disturb the spinners' length, but it will be difficult with both bowlers' stock ball turning away from the right-hander.