NZ vs IND Preview
‘Invincible’ India will eye a rare 5-0 whitewash against a bruised and battered New Zealand in the final T20Iof the series on Sunday. New Zealand have never lost all games in a bilateral T20I series (three or more matches) at home. Since 2005, they have only once lost all games in a bilateral T20I series at home, going down 2-0 to England back in February 2008.
India will have their mindset elsewhere though, pertinently the experimentation cycle ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia. The fourth T20I was a step in that direction, but it mostly came to nought with the likes of Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube wasting their opportunities. Elsewhere, with Manish Pandey firming up the number six spot, Shreyas Iyer could be promoted to number three. The bigger question is about the keeper-batsman spot. In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah could be rested with Mohammed Shami coming back to maintain the three-pacer theory.
Meanwhile, Kane Williamson is expected to be fit for the clash, after he missed out in Wellington due to a left shoulder niggle. The Black Caps’ team management were confident of his recovery even on Friday. The hosts will have greater concern over their lack of finishing though, after squandering two last over winning positions in two consecutive games, and the series along with.
Weather Report
It’s a perfect day for a game of Cricket as there is no major rain interruption is expected in Mount Maunganui. However, it is expected to be cloudy throughout the day, good playing conditions are expected in the evening. The 5th T20I will start at 8 pm local time and 12:30 pm IST.
Mount Maunganui weather report for India vs New Zealand 5th T20I©Screenshot
Here are details of how you can follow LIVE action of the 5th T20I between India and New Zealand
What: India vs New Zealand 2020, 5th T20I
When: February 2
Where: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
Time: 12:30 PM IST
TV Broadcast: Star Sports Network
LIVE Streaming: Hotstar
PITCH REPORT
The Bay Oval strip is known to assist the batters and is usually good for batting. Plenty of runs are once again expected when both India and New Zealand take to the field. However, the spinners are likely to extract a bit more than what the fans have witnessed thus far in the five-match series.
NZ vs IND Dream11 Team
Wicketkeeper – Tim Seifert
Batters – Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson (VC), Colin Munro, Ross Taylor and Shreyas Iyer
All-Rounders – Mitchell Santner
Bowlers – Ish Sodhi, Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini
NZ vs IND Predicted XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (wk)/Sanju Samson, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert (wk), Tom Bruce, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Scott Kuggeleijn, Hamish Bennett Daryl Mitchell.
SQUADS
India: Lokesh Rahul (wk), Sanju Samson, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant.
New Zealand Squad: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (C), Tim Seifert (wk), Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett, Blair Tickner.