When India takes on New Zealand in the first T20I of the five-match series in Auckland on January 24, it will be their first meeting since the Kiwis eliminated the Men in Blue from the 2019 World Cup in the semi-final.

The loss broke more than a billion hearts and it still stings Indian skipper Virat Kohli, but on the eve of the first match, he mentioned that he is not thinking of any revenge when the two teams take the field on Friday. “Even if you want to think of revenge, these guys are so nice you cannot get into that zone," said Kohli at the pre-match press conference.

"We get along really well with these guys and it's all about being competitive on the field. As I said in England, they are probably one side that has set an example for teams to play international cricket. They obviously want to bring out the best they can in every ball and every game, they are intense in their body language, they are not nasty, they are not doing things which are not acceptable on the field,” he further mentioned.

Kohli also said that the Kane Williamson-led side were the favorites to win the series since they have the home advantage and it has always been a challenge for India to beat New Zealand in their own den. The last time these two teams met in New Zealand was in 2019 when Kohli and his men won the ODI series 4-1 but lost the T20Is 1-2.

“They will have a slight home advantage but we have played a lot here in the past seasons. Every series is a fresh start and New Zealand in New Zealand is obviously a bigger challenge than playing them back in India. So, we definitely have to be at our best game," he said.

(PTI inputs)