The Indian team will kick off their tour to New Zealand with a series of five T20I matches and the first one will be played in Auckland on January 24. India is yet to win a T20I series in New Zealand and had lost 1-2 the previous time they toured in 2019.
But this time, the Indian team is coming off an unbeaten streak in the T20I series at home, drawing with South Africa and beating Bangladesh, West Indies, and Sri Lanka. They have found a brilliant combination of players who have performed well despite coming off as replacement and have done well in limited opportunities.
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Therefore, Team COC presents to you the Predicted Playing XI for Team India in the first T20I match against New Zealand in Auckland.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have done brilliantly at the top when Shikhar Dhawan missed out with an injury previously and will be tasked with continuing the good work with him out again. KL will have the additional responsibility of keeping wickets as well, something he did well against Australia and has done for KXIP in IPL also. Rohit Sharma will be looking to convert his good starts into big ones this time around as he did in the home season.
Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Manish Pandey are expected to helm the middle order and Kohli recently did admirably well against West Indies and Sri Lanka at home, while Iyer and Pandey came into their own when given assured chances in the team and a long run. Pandey showed that he could finish the game if needed to and shepherd the tail as well.
Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar may be picked as all-rounders given the variety they possess and offer on the ground. Dube’s dibbly-dobbly medium pacers may be highly effective in Kiwi conditions which offer movement in the air. Sundar has shown a keen presence of mind while opening the bowling and the bounce offered by Auckland pitch may help him this time. He might be partnered with Kuldeep Yadav in the spin department, who did well in the recently ODI series against Australia and even picked a hat-trick, his second one in ODIs, against the Windies.
As for the fast bowlers go, Indian team management might pick the best ones given that a win in the first match will give them a huge advantage. Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini all bowl at over 140 kph speeds, with Bumrah and Saini capable of touching 150kmph as well. The trio will get immense help from the wickets and conditions in Auckland and can give the Black Caps batsmen a run for their money as well.
COC Predicted Team India Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (WK), Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini
