The dreams of the ICC T20 World Cup lay shattered, but cricket-crazy India is ready once again to cheer for the ‘Men in Blue’ as they take on New Zealand in the 3-match T20I series beginning November 18. The cricket world’s eyes will be on the Hardik Pandya-led side looking for redemption after their loss against England in the semi-final.
Amid calls for a “large-scale overhaul” over the unexpected World Cup exit, the BCCI has fielded a young team, opting to rest, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Hoping to turn things around, the new-era Indian T20I side will bank heavily on star batter Suryakumar Yadav and captain Hardik Pandya.
The dynamic Suryakumar lit the T20 World Cup with his dazzling stroke play, amassing 239 runs at an incredible strike rate of 189.68. Hailed as the new “Mr. 360 degree”, Suryakumar, along with Virat Kohli, were the only India cricketers to feature in the ICC’s T20 World Cup ‘Team of the Tournament’ which comprised players from six different countries.
With a career average of 41.41 and a strike rate of 179.07 in T20Is, Suryakumar will be the vital cog in India’s batting wheel against the Kiwis. The leading scorer in 2022 with 1040 runs from 29 games, Suryakumar dethroned Pakistan wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan during the T20 World Cup to be the top-ranked batter. And, fans, including us, just can’t wait to witness another breathtaking knock by Suryakumar in the upcoming Kiwis series.
When New Zealand toured India in 2021, the stylish batter played a match-winning knock in the opening game. Walking in at 3, he scored 60 runs off 42 balls studded with 6 fours and 3 sixes. India had drubbed the kiwis 3-0 in the T20I series.
Along with Suryakumar, the spotlight will equally be on Hardik Pandya, whose leadership skills will be tested to the hilt under the challenging conditions in New Zealand. With the ability to win a match both with the bat and ball, the skipper would look to lead by example, much the way he powered Gujarat Titans to lift IPL 2022 trophy.
The all-rounder, who captained India in the two-match T20I series against Ireland earlier this year, is touted by some to succeed Rohit Sharma as the skipper in the shortest format ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
With the next edition of the T20 world cup still some time away, Pandya has enough time to hone his skill as a captain and the New Zealand tour could well be the platform to announce his arrival as the one to lead the team.
The 29-year-old excelled both with the bat and the ball at T20 World Cup and would look to continue his rich form. He played a crucial knock of 40 and picked up three wickets in the opening game against Pakistan. In the semi-final, he pulled off a blistering knock of 33-ball 63 to guide India to a respectable total of 168. Pandya’s bowling efforts were no less effective either. He finished the T20 World Cup with eight wickets in his kitty.
With over 1,100 runs and 62 wickets from79 T20I games, Pandya will surely be on the watchlist of the Kiwis who too are smarting from their semi-final defeat against Pakistan in the World Cup.
After skillfully dealing with the challenging conditions Down Under, will Surya and Pandya be able to deliver in New Zealand? Well, over a billion Indians are pinning their hopes on the duo to drub the Kiwis like they did in 2020, winning the T20I series 5-0.
The tour begins with the T20I in Wellington before the teams move to Tauranga and Napier for the second and third T20Is on November 20 and 22.
Catch all the cricketing action from India Tour of New Zealand LIVE and exclusive on Prime Video from November 18.
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