India vs New Zealand, T20 World Cup 2021: Likely playing XIs, head-to-head, pitch report & prediction
India and New Zealand will face each other in an all-important T20 WC encounter on Sunday.
India will be eager to return to winning ways and improve their rankings on the Group 2 points table when they lock horns with New Zealand in a must-win Super 12 encounter in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday (October 31). India lost their opening clash against arch-rivals Pakistan by ten wickets and are currently languishing at the fifth spot on the points table.
New Zealand are also heading into the game on the back of a defeat in their opening game against Pakistan and will be looking to bounce back. Both teams are yet to open their win account in the tournament and Sunday's clash in Dubai will be an important one for them as they look to strengthen their chances of finishing in the top four.
India have not won a T20 World Cup game against New Zealand so far. The Men in Blue have ended up on the losing side in both the meetings between the two sides in the T20 World Cup so far. New Zealand have dominated the proceedings against India overall in ICC events as well, having last lost to them in the 2003 ODI World Cup.
India have not won a game against New Zealand in an ICC event in 18 years since 2003 and will be hoping to bring an end to the losing streak on Sunday. Ahead of the all-important game, here is all you need to know about the India-New Zealand clash in the T20 World Cup 2021.
Predicted playing XIs
New Zealand:Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), James Neesham, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
Head-to-head
India might have lost both their matches against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup so far, but the Men in Blue have an even record when it comes to facing the Black Caps in T20Is. Both India and New Zealand have eight wins each in a total of 16 T20Is between them.
Also Read:Winless in 18 years! Can Virat Kohli-led India break the jinx against New Zealand in ICC events
Pitch report
While spinners haven't had much help from the Dubai track, the Afghanistan duo of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman had troubled the Pakistani batsmen in their previous clash which was played in Dubai. With the dew factor coming in, the majority of teams have bowled first at the venue and have won chasing a total. Expect the winner of the toss to bowl first once again on Sunday.
Prediction
New Zealand might not have lost against India in a T20 World Cup game so far but on Sunday, the streak can be buried by Virat Kohli and his men, who will be eager to prove their critics wrong after the defeat against Pakistan. India know the game is a must-win one for them to keep their chances of making it to the top four alive and will look to give their all against the Kiwis.