India vs New Zealand, 3rd T20I: Live Cricket Score

India look to clinch Twenty20 series, which is tied at 1-1, against New Zealand in the third and final T20 at Thiruvananthapuram. Follow live cricket scores and updates.

IndiaToday.in  | Posted by Jepher Christopher Nickels
November 7, 2017 | UPDATED 19:06 IST
BCCI PhotoBCCI Photo

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the third and final Twenty20 international between India New Zealand at Thiruvananthapuram.

18:54 IST: Players have made their way out for a game of football. The super-soppers are going around the ground.

18:45 IST: The ground is still covered. The groundstaff have gone back after clearing the water on the covers.

18:24 IST: It's slight drizzle now and the groundsmen are slowly removing the covers. The umpires are also out for an inspection.

18:00 IST: It's raining in Thiruvananthapuram at the moment and half of the ground is covered. Toss is likely to be delayed.

India have not lost a bilateral series at home since losing an ODI series 3-2 to South Africa in October 2015. But their unbeaten run at home looks in serious danger against a competitive New Zealand side.

The three-match T20 series against New Zealand is currently tied at 1-1 with the decider to be played tonight. On the other hand, the Black Caps haven't lost a bilateral T20 contest in their last eight series.

The Greenfield Stadium in Trivandrum at Kariavatto is set to be India's 50th international venue. The venues has modern drainage system and has three Super Soppers.

The Virat Kohli-led team has been on a roll in recent times but has faced stiff resistance from an enterprising New Zealand, usually known to punch above their weight. New Zealand, who slipped to No.2 in T20I rankings, can regain the top spot by beating India in the final game.

India's last T20I series against Australia had ended in a 1-1 draw after the series decider was washed out in Hyderabad and rain may play spoilsport once again.

MS Dhoni's batting position will be under spotlight, especially after India suffered a crushing 40-run defeat in the second T20. In Dhoni's innings, he had scored 26 runs in boundaries from five deliveries (3x6, 2x4) and managed only 23 from the remaining 32 deliveries, which is far less than run a ball.

The Kiwis have been competitive and lost the ODI series narrowly and proving to be difficult customers in the T20s too. While the batsmen have done well to counter the Indian bowlers, especially the spinners along with seamer Trent Boult have put their hand up when it matters the most.

Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, who wasn't part of the original squad, has been a revelation and kept the India batsmen under check with his clever variations.

TEAMS:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.