The sudden outburst of Hindi during a mostly English press conference summed up Rohit Sharma’s frustration. Speaking at Indore after his 30th century of ODI, Rohit was frustrated by market rumors that he had just achieved “his first 100 ODI wins in three years.” In the face of the pandemic, his unfortunate injury, or his back-to-back T20 World Championships, simply he can be blamed for a 20-over tournament, but Rohit believes he’s been through three years without an ODI 100. I’ve never spent it. The world watching him was.
As such, his T20I series of this three-hit game feels oddly placed nine months before his ODI World Championship. More urgently, the Marquee for Test Rubber is knocking on the door against Australia, which effectively determines the Test World Cup finalists. But here we are on the cusp of a series that feels like finger food before a big meal, but promises an opportunity… At the starting blocks, look back.
So for all Virat Kohli resting for the series, his Prithvi Shaw eager to step in and ready to show off his skills. Similarly, there is a Shivam Mavi for each Mohammed Shammi. And beside all the Kane Williamson and Tim Southey, Finn Allen and Ben Lister are quietly boiling over. This will also be a great opportunity for new captain Hardyk his Pandia and Mitchell Santner, who are next three of his T20Is looking to build their roster and culture for the 2024 World Cup. However, there is no doubt that these T20 games will eventually be displayed from the ODI frame of reference. (How much does Hardik Pandya need to bowl and dive to avoid missing out on the World Cup in nine months?) Played and odds for Australia, not entirely off the table, justify their absence. But once you extract it and sharpen your focus, you have a great opportunity to see two New Age teams go about their respective jobs.
when:
January 27, 2023 at 7:00 PM IST
From where:
India-New Zealand, 1st T20I, JSCA International Stadium Complex, Lunch
What to expect:
Lots of MS Dhoni T-shirts in the stand. His only three T20 internationals held at this stadium, the last being his 2021 rematch between India and New Zealand. Editors Tim Southey and Hershall Patel were slow-pitch headliners on the occasion, but India has played on a much better pitch this season, and you can expect the same at lunch. Be aware of the large borders at this venue.
team news
India:
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the series due to wrist pain/injury, but India are not looking for a replacement. They may stick with the starting pairing of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, who performed well against Sri Lanka recently. Also, Prithvi Shaw joined the team this time. He has been pushed back with a ton of runs at the national level and it’s worth noting how India is trying to get him into the scheme of things. With Harshal Patel absent this time around, bringing back Kuldeep Yadav could potentially replace Yuzvendra Chahal.
Possible XI: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav
new zealand:
After being impressive in the ODI series, Michael Bracewell becomes a shoo-in for his T20Is. Ben Lister
Possible XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Ben Lister/Jacob Duffy