NZ v WI 2020: 5 player battles to watch out for in the T20Is

We are just a couple of days away from the start of the much-awaited T20I series between hosts New Zealand and the visitors, West Indies.

The first match is scheduled for Friday 27th November at the Eden Park in Auckland. The Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui will play host to the remaining two T20Is in the series.

The second group of West Indian players who were in isolation have completed the COVID-19 tests and have travelled to Auckland from Christchurch today.

As we gear up for the T20I clash between these two sides, let us check some interesting player battles that could impact the T20I series.

Check out the history and recent results in matches between NZ and WI

Squad news ahead of the first KFC T20I against @windiescricket on Friday at @edenparknz #NZvWI https://t.co/6EFZ4KqiD6

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 24, 2020

5 player battles to watch out for in T20Is

1. Martin Guptill v Sheldon Cottrell

Martin Guptill and Sheldon Cottrell

Martin Guptill has been phenomenal for the Black Caps, especially in the limited-overs format. He has scored 2536 runs at an average of 32.51 in T20I cricket. However, one weakness he has is against left-arm pace bowlers when they bring the ball back into him. Guptill has been dismissed by left-arm pacer nine times in his career, and averages just 11.66 against them.

And West Indian pacer Sheldon Cottrell enjoys bringing the ball into the right-handers from over the stumps. He has cleaned up the stumps of right-handed batsmen six times, something he hasn’t been able to do even once against left-handers in T20Is.

The new-ball contest between Cottrell and Guptill will be interesting.

2. Andre Fletcher v Lockie Ferguson / Ish Sodhi

Andre Fletcher and Ish Sodhi

The ‘Spiceman’ Andre Fletcher is making a comeback to the West Indies T20I team after a two-year gap. He will be keen to cement his position in the run-up to the T20 World Cup.

However, he averages a mere 13.83 against right-arm pace bowlers, way below his career average of 21.25. And the New Zealand side has good pace bowlers for him to face at the top of the order.

Ish Sodhi has also posed problems to Fletcher when they've faced each other. Sodhi has dismissed Fletcher three times in the four innings.

📸 Preparations are in full swing in the @BLACKCAPS camp ahead of the #NZvWI T20Is. pic.twitter.com/LMCtOsJtQr

— ICC (@ICC) November 25, 2020

3. Ross Taylor v Fabian Allen

Ross Taylor and Fabian Allen

Ross Taylor is the highest run-scorer in the matches between New Zealand and West Indies among the current players. But the veteran batsman has had his own share of trouble against left-arm spinners. And the West Indies have Fabian Allen in their ranks to cause him trouble.

While Taylor has a career average of 26.51 over 100 T20 internationals, his average is 12.14 against left-arm spin. Kieron Pollard might take note of this and try to match Allen against him to cause trouble in the middle-order.

4. Shimron Hetmyer v Tim Southee

Shimron Hetmyer and Tim Southee

It's still early days in the international career of Shimron Hetmyer. He has played only 25 T20Is so far, scoring 354 runs at an average of 19.66. He has shown confidence while playing spinners, but has struggled against the right-arm quicks. Hetmyer lost his wicket six times to right-arm pace bowlers and averages just 7.66 against them.

Tim Southee is sure to cause him some problems bringing the ball into him from right-arm over the stumps. At 15.57 apiece, Southee has a much better average bowling to left-handers compared to his career bowling average of 27.44.

5. Kieron Pollard v Ish Sodhi

Kieron Pollard and Ish Sodhi

The weakness of the hard-hitting Trinidadian against wrist-spin is no secret. He averages a paltry 12.28 against right-arm spin, getting dismissed by them 14 times in his career.

Ish Sodhi is a wily customer and the Black Caps will hope that Sodhi can capitalize on this to rein in the West Indies skipper.