India New Zealand series: visitors seek third T20I win in Wellington

The India New Zealand T20I series moves to Wellington on Tuesday, October 27, with Shreyas Iyer’s visitors seeking a third victory that would settle the contest. India lead 2-0 after completing both earlier chases with four wickets remaining.

Those wins came against targets of 226 and 181. Contributions from across the batting order have helped India recover from pressure, although their bowlers have struggled to restrict the hosts.

Ishan Kishan will miss the third match because of a low-grade strain in his right adductor sustained during the opening game. His participation later in the series remains uncertain.

Selection concerns and stretched pace resources

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who scored four from eight balls in Christchurch, has another opportunity while Kishan is unavailable. India’s other batting contributions have included Sanju Samson’s 67 in the opener and Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 51 from 26 deliveries in the second game.

Varma helped repair the innings after India fell to 70 for five. Naman Dhir made 42 from 15 balls in the first match and followed it with 31, while Nitish Kumar Reddy finished unbeaten on 26 in Christchurch.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken one wicket while conceding 99 runs across eight overs in the first two games. His return followed an IPL season in which he collected 28 wickets for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The India New Zealand contest also brings selection problems for the home side. Matt Henry is unavailable for the rest of the series, while Lockie Ferguson will miss Wellington before an expected return for the last two matches.

Matt Fisher has travelled as cover, with Blair Tickner joining for the final three games. Mitchell Santner’s four wickets in Christchurch provided encouragement for a bowling attack that has yet to defend a total in this series.

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