India must win the 2nd T20I against New Zealand in Lucknow on Sunday to level the three-match series, following their defeat in Ranchi
IND vs NZ, 2nd T20I Preview: Focus on Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda as India face New Zealand in must-win match (AP Photo)
In the second T20I against
New Zealand in Lucknow on January 29th, India must be as precise as possible to
even the three-game series. The Indian squad was ensnared in a defeat as Devon
Conway and Daryl Mitchell scored remarkable fifties to propel New Zealand to a
21-run victory in the Ranchi T20I. The loss also highlighted India's haphazard
bowling, particularly from the pace bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik.
Arshdeep conceded 27 runs in the last over, putting stress on the Indian
batters, while Malik gave up 16 runs in a single over.
FOCUS ON
KISHAN & HOODA
As
the Indian cricket team heads into a crucial match against New Zealand in the
2nd T20I, the attention will be on two struggling batsmen - Ishan Kishan and
Deepak Hooda. Kishan, who bats in the opening position, has struggled since
hitting a record-breaking double-century against Bangladesh in December. In his
last seven innings in both ODIs and T20Is, his scores have been 37, 2, 1, 5,
8*, 17, and 4. In T20Is alone, he hasn't scored a fifty since June 14, 2022,
against South Africa.
Hooda, who bats in the lower middle order, has also been underperforming with an average of 17.88 in his last 13 innings, with the highest score being an unbeaten 41 against Sri Lanka. His recent 10 run performance from 10 balls lacked impact and raised questions about his strike rate, especially when facing New Zealand spinners. The Indian team may not opt for Jitesh Sharma as a wicketkeeper-batter in the middle order in Lucknow, but Hooda and Kishan are running out of time to prove themselves.
Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav wins ICC T20I Player of the Year, praised by ex-India cricketer Ashish Nehra.
New Zealand, on the other hand, is looking to seal the series win. They got off to a strong start in the previous match with a 43-run opening partnership followed by Mitchell's unbeaten 59 off 30 balls, which helped them reach a total of 176. India's chase got off to a rough start with their openers falling early, but Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya put up a 68-run stand, and Sundar hit a quick half-century. However, their efforts were in vain as Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, and Lockie Ferguson took two wickets each. The New Zealand team, led by Santner, will be relying on their in-form batsmen Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell for another win in India.
India: Hardik
Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Prithvi
Shaw, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar,
Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi and
Mukesh Kumar.
New Zealand: Mitchell
Santner (c), Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, Dane Cleaver (wk),
Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Rippon, Lockie
Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, Henry Shipley and Ben Lister.
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