The T20 series between New Zealand and India comes to an end in Napier on Tuesday when the two nations meet for the third and final time. After the opening game was washed out the series is still up for grabs in this final game.
India have a 1-0 lead in the series after their win in Hamilton over the weekend so New Zealand will need to win here in order to go into the ODI matches which follows this game having claimed a share of the spoils.
New Zealand
New Zealand went out of the T20 World Cup with a sub-par performance in the semi-final and they put in another one in the second game of this series. They were never really in the game, especially with the bat where they collapsed from 56-1 to 126 all out. It goes without saying that they need to perform better with the bat in hand if they are going to level up the series but they are going to be have to do that without their top scorer from the previous match.
In the main, New Zealand went well with the ball but they allowed Suryakumar Yadav to get away from them and when you let him build up a head of steam you tend to pay for it so the Kiwis will need to find a way to get him out early. They were able to control the rest of the bowling innings pretty well so if they can try and get him out early then they could be on to a good thing. You would imagine they’ll attack him with pace.
India
Given the emphatic demolition that India suffered in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup they would have taken any win in the previous match, especially when you consider that a lot of their strongest squad are preparing for other cricket that is on the horizon for them. They were absolutely blitzed by England in Adelaide and while it wasn’t a perfect performance last time out, given the change in personnel it was probably never going to be.
They won though and there should be a decent amount of natural improvement in them so if that comes to fruition then they are going to be tough to beat. They probably need one or two others to come to the party with the bat but there was nothing wrong with their bowling effort and whatever happens with the bat, you get the impression that the bowlers will keep them competitive throughout the game.
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Team News
New Zealand will be without Kane Williamson for this match because he has a medical issue to deal with. Mark Chapman has been called into the squad and looks set to replace him although what that does to the batting order remains to be seen.
India have no need to change their side for this match but there are ODIs which follow this series so they might look to get a game into the likes of Umran Malik before they begin. Arshdeep Singh could be one for a rest.
Betting
I’m not convinced by New Zealand. I wasn’t convinced by them at the T20 World Cup and I saw nothing in the last game that suggests anything is different here. They might be even worse without Kane Williamson in this match as although Mark Chapman is a solid campaigner, Williamson has played against all these bowlers in the Indian Premier League and that was obvious with his performance in the previous match.
India just won the last game and there is plenty of natural improvement in them. Hardik Pandya only scored at a run a ball and Rishabh Pant scored at a strike rate of 46.15 for his short innings. They don’t usually fail too often and with New Zealand without Trent Boult in this series, India might not be under as much pressure at the top of the order as they might have been. Given what we saw in the last game I’m surprised India are outsiders here. I’ll take them to win this match.
Tips
Back India to beat New Zealand for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Betfred
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