In the 28th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, India will be up against New Zealand at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, October 31. Coming into this game, Men in Blue will have extra motivation to defeat the New Zealand team, having lost to them in the World Test Championship final earlier this year.
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India lost their opening match of the tournament against Pakistan by ten wickets. The New Zealand team also suffered the same fate in their first game as they were beaten at the hands of Pakistan by five wickets in Sharjah.
The last time, two met in a T20 World Cup match, New Zealand defeated India by 47 runs in Nagpur during the 2016 edition of the tournament and they will hope to emulate the same feat again on Sunday.
Dubai Cricket Stadium, pitch report
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium is known as a batting paradise. Unlike many other surfaces in the country, the Dubai pitch supports batters as the match progresses. The toss winning skipper should opt to field at this venue; especially during the evening matches as the dew often comes into play at this time of the year, making it harder for bowlers to maintain their line and length.
Pacers would be able to extract some support from the ground in early overs. The spinners could come in handy in the middle overs.
Here are a few interesting T20I stats from Dubai International Cricket Stadium:
T20 matches played at this venue: 66
Matches won by the team batting first at this venue: 34
Match won by the team batting second at this venue: 31
Average first innings score at Dubai stadium: 143
Average second innings score in Dubai: 123
Highest total recorded in this stadium: 211/3 (20 Overs) by Sri Lanka against Pakistan
Lowest total recorded in this stadium: 55/10 (14.2 Overs) by West Indies against England
Highest total chased at this venue: 183/5 (19.4 Ov) by Afghanistan against the United Arab Emirates
Lowest total defended at this venue: 134/7 (20 Overs) by Oman vs Hong Kong
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