After a pretty one-sided ODI series, New Zealand conclude their tour of India with a three match T20 series which begins in Ranchi on Friday as both sides look to go one win ahead with two matches to come.
In the grand scheme of things this series doesn’t count for a whole lot other than to swell the coffers of Indian cricket so with both teams having bigger fish to fry in the not too distant future it will be interesting to see if these games are any more competitive than the ODIs were.
India
Whenever India are involved in a T20 international they kind of have to take it seriously given the clamour for this format in this part of the world but you only have to look at the squad which has been picked for these three matches to see that it isn’t high up on their list of priorities. There will be opportunities for players down the line though and while the next T20 World Cup is a while away this is a chance for some to begin to move into contention for it.
Generally whoever India put out in T20 cricket the one thing we can guarantee on most occasions is that their batters will deliver the goods, especially at home where the pitches are so good to bat on. What is less sure is whether they have the depth in their bowling resources to cope on tracks which probably don’t offer too much to the bowlers so they will have to rely on their natural variations and mystery bowling.
New Zealand
There is no hiding the fact that New Zealand had a much stronger squad out for the ODI series than they do this one. That is clearly because the next T20 World Cup isn’t for 18 months and more and so these T20 internationals have lost their impetus for a while until that event gets a little closer. You can’t really argue that New Zealand are blooding new players for a look at what they might have for that tournament given how far away it is.
New Zealand are the opposite to India. They are usually guaranteed a decent bowling attack regardless of who they put out in that department, although there is no getting away from the fact that the Kiwis are without the two stalwarts of their seam attack. New Zealand aren’t generally as strong in batting depth as India. The Kiwis rely more on all-rounder options to fill their lower to middle order than genuine batters.
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Team News
India will put out a largely second string side here with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah all either rested or injured. The one selection issue they have is whether to play Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal.
New Zealand are without the likes of Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Trent Boult for this match which means Mark Chapman and Blair Tickner are likely to get game time and there could also be a debut for Ben Lister.
Betting
This Ranchi ground is not always the highest scoring ground in the country and when you consider that both teams are playing largely second string batting units we probably shouldn’t expect a high scoring game here either unless we get something bizarre taking place. There is always the danger that a Suryakumar Yadav, Finn Allen or Hardik Pandya blitz can change that way of thinking but in the main I’m not expecting a high scoring classic here.
That makes me think the boundaries line at 41.5 is a tough on the high side. They saw their top order exposed massively in two of the three ODIs and there is no doubt their batting is even weaker in this match than it was those. India are missing the men who got most of their runs in the ODIs as well and if there is anything in this pitch like there often is then scoring could be tricky. Throw in the lack of motivation and this just feels like an under sort of match.
Tips
Back Under 41.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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