India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I toss update | PC- AFP
One of the toughest assignments for an Indian team kicks off as the Shreyas Iyer-led side looks to lock horns with New Zealand in the first of five T20Is at Christchurch on Thursday. Fortunately, the visitors will begin on a positive note by winning the toss. They will bowl first.
These five matches will be crucial for the Men in Blue, as the next T20 World Cup will be co-hosted in New Zealand alongside Australia.
Moreover, the five-match T20Is will commence a multi-format series that also includes five ODIs and two Test matches.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar included, Varun Chakaravarthy benched in IND vs NZ 1st T20I
As predicted, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been included in India's Playing XI vs New Zealand for the first T20I fixture. He will lead the fast-bowling group, comprising Arshdeep Singh and Mayank Yadav.
Notably, Varun Chakaravarthy, coming in from a long injury layoff, has been left out from the starting 11. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been included in place of Shivam Dube, while Prince Yadav is sitting out.
Not so surprisingly, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been asked to warm the bench in New Zealand as well. Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir will be India's front-line batters.
The Blackcaps, meanwhile, have picked a four-member pace attack to trouble the double-reigning T20 Champions. Bevon-John Jacobs has been named in the New Zealand Playing XI vs India at Christchurch.
India vs New Zealand: Playing XIs for 1st T20I
India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav
New Zealand Playing XI: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
India vs New Zealand: Who has the advantage after toss?
With a late scheduled start to the game, the team batting second will have trickier conditions, with temperatures predicted to clock in single digits during the course of the IND vs NZ 1st T20I at Christchurch.
For India, it could turn out to be a challenging outing with the bat. Additionally, the Men in Blue are playing with one fewer pacer than their counterparts, which could haunt them later.
Meanwhile, the Blackcaps are well known for using home conditions to their advantage.
