The 28th match of the World T20 Cup will exhibit 2 big teams of the second group, India and New Zealand, on the Dubai ground. They both have suffered a loss in their first match against Pakistan. This is their second match in the competition and both the teams will desperately try to win this match in order to increase their chances for the semi finals.
A must win for team India
Team India will play their second match of the World T20 Cup after a week-long break. In the first match, India suffered a crushing defeat against Pakistan. It was India's first defeat against Pakistan in the World Cup. The team's combination was questioned in the first match, hence, the team can make changes to their playing XI in this match. Ishan Kishan may be included in the squad in place of Hardik Pandya. Apart from Kishan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is likely to be replaced by Shardul Thakur.
Though India have a strong batting line-up, Pakistan put India under pressure by taking two wickets early on. Hence adding a batsman to the squad is expected. The Indian bowlers could not take a single wicket in the first match. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar completely failed to stop the Pakistani batsmen. Varun Chakravarthy too could not trouble the Pakistani batsmen.
New Zealand's impeccable record against India
This will be New Zealand's second match, just like India. New Zealand gave Pakistan a good fight in the first match but Shoaib Malik and Asif's partnership took the match from New Zealand's hands. The good thing for New Zealand is that they have never lost to India at International Cricket Board events since 2003. India is going to face a tough challenge. Trent Boult and Tim Southee will test the Indian batsmen in today's match.
When it comes to batting, Martin Guptill, Williamson, Neesham, Conway make up a good batting line-up. However, New Zealand's batting line-up against Pakistan in the last match on UAE pitches seemed to be struggling and none of the batters could convert a good start into a big score.
Weather Report
The minimum and maximum temperatures at Dubai will be 35 and 25 degrees, respectively. The humidity will be around 55 percent, and the chances of precipitation is zero.
Pitch Report
Dubai's pitch has supported batsmen in the last few matches, and it will be the same in this match too. The probability of opting field after winning the toss is high. Talking about bowlers, fast bowlers will have an impact on this pitch. On the other hand, spinners can be helpful in the middle overs.
Probable Playing XI For India
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah
Probable Playing XI For New Zealand
Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Tim Seifert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
Key Players
India:
Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma
New Zealand:
Martin Guptill
Kane Williamson
