Team India will lock their horns with New Zealand at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, October 31. Both teams have lost their first match in this tournament to the same opposition Pakistan and now will play this match as a virtual knock-out. Whoever wins today’s match, will most likely share the semi-final spot with Pakistan from Super-12 Group-2. Pakistan and England are the only teams from both groups to win their first three matches and have almost sealed their spot for the semi-final.
Team India
This is a do or, die match for Virat Kohli-led Indian team, after their defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan. After the defeat, India got a decent break of 8 days to figure out and work on their problems. The opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul failed against Pakistan, on top of that Surya Kumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya also failed on the big occasion. Bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Md Shami and Varun Chakravarthy also didn’t deliver in that match. Shardul Thakur and Ishan Kishan will most probably replace Bhubaneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya.
Predicted playing XI India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand
While for New Zealand there is good news that Martin Guptil has recovered from his injury and will play the match against India. The spin duo of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner will be crucial for Kiwis. Same as the Indian team, New Zealand has also lost their first match and this match is more of a quarter-final for them too.
Predicted XI 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
Head-to-head record
India and New Zealand both teams have won 8-times against each other. However, India has not managed to win against New Zealand in the past 18 years in any ICC tournaments, including their recent defeat in the 2021 ICC Test Championship final in June and semi-final heartbreak in the 2019 World Cup. But on a positive note, India has won all their 8-T20Is, they have played post-2016 T20 World Cup.
Players to watch out for
Rohit Sharma
Ish Sodhi
And KL Rahul
India vs New Zealand will start at 07:30 pm IST and will be broadcast by Star Sports Network and streaming platform Disney Plus Hotstar.