IND vs NZ Highlights, T20 World Cup 2021: New Zealand beat India by 8 wickets; Boult, Mitchell, and Sodhi shine in Dubai

Martin Guptill with 2956 T20I runs in 2nd highest run-getter in his format after Virat Kohli, he needs 44 more to complete 3000 runs.

• Guptill is three sixes away from completing 150 T20I sixes, he will be the first batter to reach this landmark.

Since 2020 Mohammed Shami has been impressive in IPL and has picked 38 wickets which is joint 3rd most by a bowler during this span.

But in T20Is for India Shami has picked 12 wickets at an average of 39.25 which is the worst among all the Indian bowlers with min. 10 wickets.

5 times in 13 Innings he has conceded more than 40 plus runs in his spells in T20Is, his most expensive spell in T20Is has come against New Zealand where he conceded 53 runs.

o Thrice he has conceded 40+ runs in his spell in the 2nd innings of the match.

Out of his 12 wickets 83.33% of Shami’s wickets have come in theBilateral T20I series and in 4 innings he has managed to pick just 2 wickets and averages 65.00 which is 90% higher compared to his average of 34.10.

Out of his 18 dismissals in T20 World cup so far, 10 times he has been dismissed by Left-arm bowlers (spinner and pacer).

With his dismissals to Shaheen Afridi in the last match, it was the 14th time Rohit was dismissed by a Left-arm pacer in T20Is, his average of 25.29 is the lowest among all the bowler types.

New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner and Trent Boult have dismissed Rohit Sharma twice in T20Is.

o In the 2016 T20 World Cup, Santner got his wicket.

The key to India’s successful against New Zealand Post ICC T20 World Cup is Rohit Sharma’s form against the Kiwis.

• Since 2017 he has scored 322 runs in 10 innings, including 4 fifties in them and has a strike rate of 140.61. His last two knocks against NZ are as follows latest firs: 65 and 60*in 2020.

• Overall, in T20Is Rohit has scored 338 runs which is 3rd most runs by a batsman vs NZ, 4 fifties by Rohit are also joint-most fifty-plus scores by a batsman along with Dawid Malan vs NZ.

After receiving a toe-crushing yorker from Haris Rauf, Guptill did not field but he did return to training at full tilt and is expected to be fit

"The way Shaheen bowled the other night was... from a left-armer watching on I thought it was amazing. Early wickets are definitely the focus for us as a bowling group. But, here, we just need to be nice and clear and nice and accurate where we are trying to put the ball. But, hopefully from my point of view, it swings around a little bit and I can mirror what Shaheen did the other night." - Trent Boult in the pre-match presser

"It [toss] will continue to be a big factor and that's the nature of this tournament. You can look at this situation in two ways - either you can bank too much on the toss or you can challenge yourself as a team to say okay even if we lose the toss, we're good enough to bowl or bat in any conditions and that should be the attitude. You don't have time in the shortest format of the game to think too much about what happened at the toss. The game goes away from you pretty quickly, and 2 or 3 overs can change the whole course of the game as we saw in the last game as well." - Virat Kohli said in the pre-match presser

5. Kane Williamson vs Varun Chakravarthy: In the last two years in T20 cricket, Williamson has shown signs of discomfort against the right-arm leg break variety, scoring at a strike rate of just 110.3, the second-lowest among all types of attack after left-arm pace. And in the last two IPL campaigns in the UAE, his strike rate against the variety fell to 102.8 for just one dismissal. India might want to go with Varun against the New Zealand skipper, whom he has faced twice in IPL with the batter managing two runs off four balls.

4. Martin Guptill vs Jasprit Bumrah: An early wicket will be imperative for India and hence Kohli might want to start with Bumrah against Guptill, who he has dismissed Guptill twice in 27 deliveries in T20Is for just 28 runs and once in IPL.

3. Virat Kohli vs Ish Sodhi: The Indian skipper has a strike rate of just 94.9 against the right-arm leg break variety has been dismissed twice in T20s since 2020. Sodhi loves playing against India, having picked 17 wickets which is the most by a bowler in T20Is, and more so enjoys bowling against Kohli, who he has dismissed twice in 31 balls for just 39 runs.

2. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma vs Mitchell Santner: If New Zealand start with Trent Boult, Williamson might fancy Mitchell Santner rolling his arms from the other end. Rohit has a strike rate of 118.6 in T20s since 2020 against the left-arm orthodox variety, the second least after left-arm pacers, and Santner has already dismissed him twice in international cricket. Rahul, on the other hand, has a strike rate of just 97.1 against this type of attack in the T20s during the same period. Although, in their only T20I meeting, Rahul scored 55 off 33 against Santner in the five-match series in 2020.

1. Rohit Sharma vs Trent Boult, Tim Southee: A week after his Shaheen Afridi's devastating opening spell against India that saw the dismissal of Rohit for a duck, the Indian opener will be up against yet another left-arm pacer in Trent Boult. The dismissal was his sixth against the variety in T20 World Cups. Overall, he averages 21.1 and has scored at almost a run-a-ball rate against left-arm pacers since 2019 and figures are more concerning in the powerplay where he averages 19.8 at a strike rate of 114.5 with four dismissals.

Boult has faced Rohit thrice in T20Is, back in 2017, dismissing him twice in 11 deliveries for 15 runs.

Meanwhile, Rohit has also struggled against Southee, having been dismissed thrice in T20Is for a strike rate of just 111.5. In their last meeting, in 2020, Rohit scored just 23 off 22 and was dismissed once.

Do you agree with him? “They wouldn't be looking to make too many changes after a defeat for that is a sure sign of panic and frankly, there is no need for that. The only concern would be the shoulder injury to Hardik Pandya and he is reported to have bowled a few deliveries in the nets which encourages the belief that he could be the sixth bowler if required in the team,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Khaleej Times.

Sodhi has a brilliant record in ICC T20 World Cup in 6 innings he has picked 12 wickets and he has picked in every innings he has played in T20 World Cup.

• Indian Batsmen dismissed the most by Ish Sodhi in T20Is:

o Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya- 3

o Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shivam Dube-2.

• Sodhi has been in great form this year as well, he has picked 19 wickets which is the most he has picked in a calendar year.

• Sodhi has picked two four-fer as well, he is the only New Zealand bowler to pick two four wickets in a year.

o 4/28 vs AUS, Christchurch

o 4/28 vs BAN, Hamilton.

Both the NZ spinners, Sodhi and Santner from the current NZ squad, feature in top three wicket-takers vs IND.

2. Ish Sodhi- 12 matches 17 wickets

2. Dushmantha Chameera - 12 matches, 14 wickets

3. Mitchell Santner- 12 matches, 12 wickets

In both the World T20 matches between India and New Zealand, NZ spinners have played major role in their victory.

o In 2007: Daniel Vettori – 4/20 at Johannesburg

o In 2016: Mitchell Santner: 4/11 at Nagpur.

• Another New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner has been a major role for NZ against India. He has picked 17 wickets against India which is the most by a bowler in T20Is.

Twice (2007 and 2016) the two teams have played in World T20 Cup so far and Kiwis have won both the matches.

• Further if we look at contest between the two teams in World Cup across formats, In 10 matches played India have managed to win just three matches.

• Last time India won against New Zealand in World Cups ( ODIs & T20Is) was in 2002 India vs New Zealand in World Cups (ODIs & T20Is) Result Margin

After 10 wickets defeat against Pakistan India will play against New Zealand in their 2nd match in group 12.

• In 16 T20Is against played between the two sides both the teams have 8 wins each. Tied + win in super over are considered as win (India won two matches in super over in 2020).

1. Afghanistan -183/5 in 19.4 overs. Target: 180 against UAE

2. Australia - 155/3 in 17 overs. Target: 155 against Sri Lanka

3. Pakistan - 154/5 in 19.4 overs. Target 154 against New Zealand

Best Bowling Figures:

5/14 By Imad Wasim (Pakistan) Against West Indies In 2016.

Highest Partnership:

152 By Mohammad Rizwan And Babar Azam (Pakistan) For

1st Wicket Against India In 2021.

Win Rate Batting First:

50% (5 Won; 5 Lost)

Highest Team Total:

211/3 By Sri Lanka Against Pakistan In 2013.

Lowest Team Total:

55/10 By West Indies Against England In 2021.

Highest Individual Score:

84 By Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka) Against Pakistan In 2013.

Both India and New Zealand played Pakistan in their first match. Here's how the captains performed:

Virat Kohli: 57

Kane Williamson: 25

Interesting fact about Ish Sodhi: Ish Sodhi is the leading wicket-taker against India in T20Is (17 wickets in 12 matches). Sodhi has also been in exceptional form in 2021, picking 19 wickets in just eight T20Is.

This is a massive, massive encounter as two modern-day great, two brilliant captains, and two special friends will square off against each other. It's time for a new chapter in the Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson friendly rivalry.

India and New Zealand have squared off against each other 16 times in T20Is. The Black Caps and the Men in Blue have won 8 games each.