New Zealand vs India, 2nd T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Toss - New Zealand opt to bat

Slightly surprised but Kane Williamson believes that the wicket will get slower as the game goes on. Both teams are unchanged by the way. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul(w), Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert(w), Mitchell Santner, Blair Tickner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett

Build up

If Team India had any complaints about the scheduling of this series having been asked to play the opening T20I barely five days after the final ODI against Australia at home, then they are certainly in for more. Less than 48 hours after their convincing win over hosts New Zealand, India will be back in the park again at the same venue looking to edge closer to the series win. A win tonight will make it extremely difficult for New Zealand to mentally bounce back and win the series 3-2. The hosts would already be disappointed after losing the first game after posting more than 200 on the board.

You can't ask for more from a batting unit. Not often do teams post more than 200 against a side that has Jasprit Bumrah and replicating it is going to be difficult despite the short boundaries on offer. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor hit fifties with a strike rate of 200 and perhaps the openers will be asked to go out there and tonk from ball one tonight. Or if luck favours them, New Zealand can bowl first and see how much India post on the board and then be calculative in their run chase.

India will be buoyed by their own chase on Friday night especially with someone like Shreyas Iyer coming to the party with a crucial fifty right at the end of the chase. But they will be hopeful that Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami can stage strong comebacks after going for plenty in the first game. And what about Rishabh Pant? He suddenly finds himself on the sidelines now with KL Rahul's emergence as a wicketkeeper. Will Pant be included tonight or will India stick to the same combination? Welcome to the live blog for this second T20I. Let's hope for some entertainment on a lazy sunday!!