BackLast Updated on 10 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
The series is decided, but expect more fireworks as the action moves to Auckland. A sold out crowd will pack out Eden Park, with around 40,000 fans ready to witness T20 batting at its finest.
Abhishek Sharma was at his damaging best a few nights ago in Wellington. His 38-ball 113 was a thing of beauty as he had an answer for everything New Zealand threw at him. His strong base and fast hands set him up for success, and if the Black Caps don’t dismiss him early on a ground with such small dimensions, anything is possible.
Finn Allen believes the same. “Once a guy like Abhishek Sharma gets going, he is pretty hard to stop. It was just one of those things and we have to move on to the next game,” he said after the Wellington demolition.
However, New Zealand also have to contend with other fantastic Indian players, including Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager smashed his own 19-ball 45 in a record partnership with Abhishek, where the pair blitzed 118 in the powerplay alone. Sanju Samson has also made an impact in this series, as have Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy down the order.
Mitchell Santner will be hoping to win the toss and chase, but they could be chasing plenty if they don’t strike in the powerplay. With the bat, New Zealand have shown enough promise with the likes of Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs and Daryl Mitchell contributing. But, a big stand from Finn Allen and Tim Seifert might just be what they need to go from scores around 200 to closer to 250.
Kuldeep Yadav or Varun Chakravarthy could get a game with the series sealed. Mayank Yadav is also a chance of returning, potentially in place of Arshdeep Singh or Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have played all three matches so far.
Ishan Kishan missed the previous two T20Is with a groin strain. If he returns, India have a choice to make on whether to play Sooryavanshi or Samson.
India: 1. Abhishek Sharma, 2. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3. Sanju Samson (wk), 4. Shreyas Iyer (c), 5. Tilak Varma, 6. Naman Dhir, 7. Nitish Kumar Reddy/Shivam Dube, 8. Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakravarthy, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. Prince Yadav, 11. Arshdeep Singh/Mayank Yadav
New Zealand have injury concerns. Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Zak Foulkes are unavailable. Kyle Jamieson has been released from the squad to play in the Ford Trophy.
New Zealand: 1. Finn Allen, 2. Tim Seifert (wk), 3. Daryl Mitchell, 4. Glenn Phillips, 5. Bevon Jacobs, 6. Michael Bracewell, 7. Mitchell Santner (c), 8. Adam Milne, 9. Jacob Duffy, 10. Matt Fisher, 11. Blair Tickner/Nathan Smith
Expect fabulous batting conditions with a true surface and very small ground dimensions. Batting first is a good option at this ground, with teams batting first and second both winning 50% of completed men’s T20Is here since the start of 2016. However, expect the captain who wins the toss to select chasing.
Earlier this year, the bowlers dominated in the New Zealand-South Africa T20I. But, they were two new-look teams soon after the T20 World Cup. In 2018, there was a chase of 245 by Australia against the Black Caps. We could see a similar match today.
A cool and clear evening is forecast which makes dew a strong possibility.
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Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article, as well as your own instincts, to create your teams.
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Option 2: