India vs New Zealand: Samson, Kishan eye impact in second T20I
India face New Zealand in the second T20 at Raipur with Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan aiming to make their mark. India, buoyed by an emphatic win in Nagpur, look to continue momentum ahead of next month’s T20 World Cup
Raipur: Sanju Samson will look to settle into a much-needed role at the top of the order, while Ishan Kishan will aim to make the limited opportunities count in the second T20 international between India and New Zealand here on Friday.
In and out of the playing eleven for no fault of his own, Samson is now certain to get an extended run ahead of next month’s T20 World Cup.
Falling to a soft dismissal in the series opener, Samson will be determined to display his wide range of shots that have helped him score three hundreds in the shortest format.
Another batter who needs to repay the faith of the team management is Kishan, a surprise inclusion in the World Cup squad, who played ahead of Shreyas Iyer in Nagpur on Wednesday night.
The southpaw looked good in his brief stay before being caught at cover. With batting depth till number eight, most Indian players bat in top gear trying to hit every ball out of the park. Kishan is expected to continue with that fearless approach and hope it pays off.
Focus has also been on captain Suryakumar Yadav’s form ahead of the ICC event. Even though he could not make a major contribution, his 32 off 22 balls would have lifted his confidence.
Despite areas of improvement emerging from the emphatic win in the first T20, India’s overall performance sent strong signals to rivals ahead of the World Cup, where they go in as defending champions.
If India are to become the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title, Abhishek Sharma must continue his explosive form at the top of the order, as seen on Wednesday night.
The left-hander seems to be in the form of his life and has shown a rare ability to clear the boundary consistently.
In the lower order, Rinku Singh’s return and instant impact was another big positive for India.
Even without Kuldeep Yadav, the bowling department looks well balanced.
If Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya keep taking wickets in the powerplay, Jasprit Bumrah can be used for three overs after the powerplay, giving India an additional weapon in the middle overs.
India were able to negate the dew factor in Nagpur largely due to their massive total.
“The way we batted, even after being put under pressure in the powerplay at 25-2, we took the game till the 15th over and never stopped. All the batters played their role really well and that was a big plus point,” said Suryakumar after the win.
Dew is expected here as well and no total would be safe, as South Africa showed last month by chasing down 359 against India in an ODI.
New Zealand know they were not up to the mark with the ball and, being a side that adapts quickly, the Black Caps will back themselves to level the series.
They will be slightly worried about Devon Conway’s recent dismissals, often caught in the slips off away-moving deliveries.
“We were put under pressure with the ball throughout the innings. There’s no real chance to squeeze a couple of dots against this team, you’ve got to be on from ball one to win it,” said New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner.
Squads:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Devon Conway, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Robinson, Jimmy Neesham, Ish Sodi, Zak Foulkes, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy.
Match starts 7 pm.
