By his own admission, Suryakumar Yadav continues to strike the ball sweetly in the nets. Outside them, however, he has found himself fending off questions about not converting starts lately. With just five matches left before he leads the defending champions into a home World Cup, the India captain remains firm in his belief that the runs will come—and that his style is non-negotiable, reports Live Cricket Score.
He can afford to brush off some of the scrutiny with a smile, because India is, by most measures, the standout T20I side in the world right now. Since the Rohit Sharma–Rahul Dravid pairing delivered the world title in 2024, India has won 29 of the 36 T20Is they’ve played. There was a brief period of experimentation that unsettled the balance—most notably a reshuffled top order and the reintroduction of Shubman Gill—but those tweaks now appear to be behind them. Sanju Samson has returned to the top alongside Abhishek Sharma, while Rinku Singh is back in the frame as the designated finisher.
The next 11 days offer India an opportunity to fine-tune a well-oiled machine and scan for any last-minute red flags before the marquee event. And few opponents are better suited to testing that readiness than New Zealand. The visitors from the islands have recently had a knack for unsettling India, having done so in both Tests and ODIs. Their returning captain, Mitchell Santner, would relish the chance to make it three out of three by springing a surprise in the shortest format as well.
New Zealand’s numbers in this T20 World Cup cycle are respectable—15 wins and seven losses from 26 matches—but they’ve consistently fallen short against Australia and England. If they harbour ambitions of breaking the decade-long dominance of the so-called ‘big three’ at global events, stumbling against the very best won’t suffice. Like India, they too have less than a fortnight to put the final pieces together.
Match Details
When: India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I – January 21, 7:00 PM IST
Where: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
What to expect
A black-soil surface that could offer some assistance to bowlers. Big scores have been rare at this venue, which has hosted just 13 T20Is so far. India’s record here stands at two wins and two losses, though the ground also witnessed their lowest-ever T20I total—79 against New Zealand during the 2016 T20 World Cup.
Team News
India
“Ishan will play at No.3. He’s in our World Cup team, and we picked him first… I think he’s our best bet at No.3.”
Suryakumar Yadav put an early end to speculation around Tilak Varma’s replacement for the opening three games, confirming that Ishan Kishan will slot in at No.3 ahead of Shreyas Iyer.
Probable XI:
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel / Kuldeep Yadav, Varun CV, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand
The visitors welcome back Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry and Mark Chapman from injury, with all three expected to walk straight into the XI. New Zealand may also opt for a second spinner, which could bring Ish Sodhi into the side.
Tim Robinson, who isn’t part of the World Cup squad, is set to open alongside Devon Conway at the start of the series. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are currently tied up with BBL commitments but are expected to join later, along with Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne.
Probable XI:
Tim Robinson, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy
Did you know?
- Only Varun CV and Richard Ngarava have taken more wickets in the current T20I World Cup cycle than Jacob Duffy’s 42.
- Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t registered a T20I fifty since the South Africa tour in November 2024.
- Since returning from his Asia Cup injury, Hardik Pandya has scored 142 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 186.84.
- Since the start of 2023, Matt Henry has claimed 176 international wickets across formats—the most by any bowler in the world.
What they said
“I’ve been batting really well in the nets. The runs will definitely come. But at the same time, I don’t want to do things differently. I don’t want to change my identity.”
— Suryakumar Yadav, India captain
“Our recent success in India obviously gives us confidence. We enjoy playing in India, and we enjoy playing in India. We’re looking forward to this series. The goal is to win it, but also to prepare well for the T20 World Cup 2026.”
— Mitchell Santner, New Zealand captain
