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

INDIA: Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

NEW ZEALAND: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson(c), James Neesham, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips(w), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult

New Zealand win toss, opt to bowl in Group 1 match against India in Dubai

Folks, the toss will be held anytime now. Who you backing? Kohli and Wiliamson have walked out and they hug each other

So, what do we make of this surface?

Take notice, folks. The Kiwis are in the ground

A clip from earlier today

5: wickets Jasprit Bumrah(59) needs to become the leading wicket taker for India in T20Is, he will surpass Yuzvendra Chahal (63).

• 9: sixes Virat Kohli needs to complete 100 T20I sixes for India.

• 5: wickets Shardul Thakur needs to complete 150 T20 wickets

• 1: wicket James Neesham is one wicket away from completing 150 T20 wickets.

• 2: wickets Ish Sodhi needs to become leading wicket taker for NZ in any calendar year.

• 10: Virat Kohli has scored 10 fifties in ICC T20 World Cup, which is most fifty plus scores by a batsman in ICC World T20 cup.

• 13: Virat has scored 13 fifties as a captain in T20Is which is also the most fifty plus score by a captain in T20Is

• 0: India is yet to register a win against New Zealand in T20 World Cup.

• 3: Martin Guptill needs 3 more sixes to complete 150 T20I sixes, he will be 1st batsman to achieve this feast.

• 44: runs Martin Guptill needs to complete 3000 T20I runs.

• 3: wickets Trent Boult needs to complete 50 T20I wickets.

CB reports that Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur are marking their run-ups. What does this mean? Is Bhuvi left out? Confirmation soon

Ish Sodhi -5 innings | 34 runs | 37 balls faced  | dismissed- 2 | SR- 91.89 

Mitchell Santner - 5 innings | 55 runs | 33 balls faced|  dismissed-0| SR 166.66

Tim Southee 5 innings | 54 runs | 33 balls faced | Dismissed- 0 | SR- 163.63

“I would go for Shardul Thakur because Shardul can give runs with the bat, and he’s a wicket-taking option. It also increases the depth in the batting lineup. So, I would definitely go with Shardul ahead of Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar)," said Laxman on Star Sports.

"He (Bhuvneshwar) is an experienced bowler, but if you think about the balance and the combination of the playing eleven, I would probably prefer Shardul over Bhuvi.”

Win toss, bowl first and win the game. This has been the trend so far. A couple of nights back, Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan captain, chose to bat first against Pakistan and they nearly pulled off a win. 

Another pertinent doubt is whether India and Kohli should bring in Ishan Kishan, a swashbuckling left-handed youngster, in Suryakumar Yadav's stead. SKY has found it difficult to get going so far

Folks, we are getting closer to the game by the minute. 30 minutes to go for the all-important toss. Which captain will the coin favour?

The next issue, rather question, at hand is whether the team should go with Shardul Thakur. If they do, he could either replace an off-colour Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Hardik Pandya. He is a wicket-taking bowler with very abled batting abilities

This is, in quite literal terms, one of the biggest “the nation wants to know” questions. He did not bowl in the warm-up games and the first game. He was then taken to scans after being hit while batting. But he did return to bowling in the nets. India are missing the 6th bowler and Pandya has been playing as a finisher. However, he hasn't done either satisfactorily enough thus far.

Varun Chakaravarthy: Yay or nay? India's "mystery" spinner was the best bowler in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 and even earned up a call in the T20 WC side. But he played most of his matches in Sharjah, a surface that helped the spinners. 

In the first game against UAE, he was quite off colour. Will Kohli retain him?

In 2021 he has scored 288 runs and has been dismissed three times, twice he has been dismissed by Leg spinner Adil Rashid, the other instance was Shaheen in the first match.

• Only 9 bowlers have managed to dismiss Kohli multiple times in T20Is, three leg spinners have dismissed him twice: Adil Rashid, Adam Zampa and Ish Sodhi.

o Sodhi had dismissed Kohli in 2016 T20 World cup as well.

1. Virat Kohli (INDIA): 17 innings| 834 runs | AVG 83.40 | 50+ scores- 10

2. Chris Gayle (WI): 29 innings| 949 runs | AVG 36.50 | 50+ scores- 9

3. Mahela Jayawardene (SL): 31 innings | 1016 runs | AVG 39.07 | 50+ scores - 7

In last eight matches in T20 World Cup matches 6 fifties have been scored for India all have come from Virat Kohli’s bat.

• Last time when a fifty was scored by an Indian batter other than Kohli was in 2014 by Yuvraj Singh-60 vs Australia at Dhaka, 30 Mar 2014

• Overall, in T20 World Cup he has scored ten fifties in which is the most by batsman in the tournament.

Kohli with 834 runs in 17 innings is the fourth-highest run-getter in ICC T20 World Cup, he has scored four fifties in last innings in T20 World Cup.

KOHLI'S LAST 5 SCORES: 57, 89*, 82*, 24, 55*

Guptill’s strike rat further falls when he plays against India in T20Is, he has scored 208 runs in 12 innings average 17.33 and has a strike rate of 115.55 which is lowest among all teams he has played min. 10 innings.

o He has scored at least a fifty against all teams he has played min. 10 T20Is except India.

Mohammad Hafeez (PAK) - 23 matches | SR- 106.32

Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN)- 26 matches | SR 108.67

Martin Guptill (NZ) - 21 matches | SR 109.79

Kumar Sangakkara (SL) - 30 matches  | SR - 112.22

Tamim Iqbal (BAN) - 23 matches | SR - 113.46

• After the struggle in T20Is last year, Guptill has scored 335 runs in 9 innings striking at 151,58.

• Guptill had a quiet start to his World cup campaign this year vs PAK scoring 17 off 20 balls striking at 85.

• Overall, in T20 World Cup Guptill has scored 426 runs at a strike rate of 106.79 which is 3rd lowest among all batters who have played min. 20 innings.

Martin Guptill: 147

Rohit Sharma: 133

Chris Gayle: 122

Eoin Morgan: 116

Evin Lewis: 110