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PlayersIndia vs New Zealand Live 1st T20I: All eyes on Bhuvneshwar Kumar as IND under pressure to perform overseas
India vs New Zealand Live Score 1st T20I: Follow live score and updates of the series opener between India and New Zealand from Christchurch.
India vs New Zealand Live Score 1st T20I: India begin their five-match T20I series against New Zealand in Christchurch this afternoon (IST). After underwhelming tours of Ireland and England, Shreyas Iyer will look to make a strong statement as captain in testing overseas conditions. India have plenty of firepower in Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma, but their bowling will be under scrutiny in the absence of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. The return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar after nearly four years and the inclusion of Varun Chakravarthy offer a boost, though questions remain over the attack's balance. With barely two days to acclimatise, India will need to adapt quickly against Mitchell Santner's side and its pace-heavy bowling attack.
...Read MoreVarun Chakaravarthy likely to sit out!
India could opt for three frontline seamers in the series opener, with Prince Yadav joining Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the pace attack and Nitish Kumar Reddy providing an additional fast-bowling option as an all-rounder. Varun Chakaravarthy, meanwhile, returns after another injury-enforced spell on the sidelines. However, finding a place for the mystery spinner in the playing XI could prove difficult if India decide to strengthen their pace attack for the opener.
Bhuvi returns after four years!
Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes his return to India's T20I setup after nearly four years, bringing his experience and ability to swing the ball with the new ball. His comeback adds depth to the pace attack which lacked variety in the past couple of series.
Check India's Probable Playing XI!
India's Probable XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh
India vs New Zealand Live Score 1st T20I: Hello and welcome!
Hello and welcome to our live blog of first T20I of five-match series between India and New Zealand.
