New Zealand knew they were going to have a tough challenge at the start of 2020 as they were set to a host a strong Indian team for a T20, ODI and Test match series at home. When you play a home series in international cricket, the home side is generally expected to win.
New Zealand and India started their tour with a three match T20 series which many pundits thought would be a competitive series between the two sides given the fact that the Kiwis have some of the best T20 players in the world.
However, it turned out to be a rather one sided series as the Indians dominated play and won the first two T20 series in Auckland to take the series 2-0.
The Kiwis did not field their best team as some of their key players such as Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Tom Latham are all out due to injury. However, they will be disappointed with their performances with both the bat and ball as they were outplayed in home conditions.
The third and final T20 will take place on Jan 29 in Hamilton and the Kiwis will need to play really well if they are going to avoid the embarrassment of suffering a 3-0 series whitewash. Can the Kiwi do it? why not take a bet at one of our top cricket betting sites for the latest odds.
New Zealand cannot expect to go in with the same strategy as they did in the first two T20s and expect a different result as the Indian T20 side are in good form. The selectors don’t really have a lot of options and will more or less stick with the same squad.
Batting: The Kiwis need to decide on two players who are going to play an anchor role and allow the rest of the batsmen to play with freedom. Openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro must be told to go after the bowling and not be cautious while facing the new ball. Captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are the veterans who need to play the role of the anchor.
When these two experienced players are set, they have the ability to up the scoring towards the end of the innings.
Bowling: Williamson will have to chop and change throughout the innings to ensure that the Indian batsmen don’t get set. He might have to bring himself on to bowl a few overs and see if he can make a breakthrough.
If the Kiwis end up losing 3-0, they will struggle with their confidence going into the three match ODI series which starts on Jan 31
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