The last time these two met in a T20 that mattered, India made 255 for 5 in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad and won by 96 runs. Seven months on, the New Zealand vs India T20I series starts at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday 22 October, a night game at 8pm local time, with the second match at the same ground on Saturday 24 October. It's the start of the biggest bilateral tour the two countries have ever arranged: five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests over six weeks.
New Zealand want that final back
The final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on 8 March wasn't close. New Zealand were bowled out for 159, and Jasprit Bumrah took 4 for 15 to win player of the match.
This time Mitchell Santner's side have home conditions, a Christchurch crowd and early-season pitches with some life in them, and they're facing a much-changed India squad. If they're going to show Ahmedabad was a one-off, this is about as good a chance as they'll get.
A different India
Shreyas Iyer captains the T20 side, with Tilak Varma as vice-captain. Shubman Gill takes over for the ODIs and Tests later in the tour. Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, among other World Cup names, aren't in the 16 for this leg, which makes the series a real look at where India's T20 side goes next.
The full squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Naman Dhir, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav.
The top order still looks frightening. Abhishek Sharma's left-handed hitting in the powerplay has become a fixture, Samson and Kishan are two keeping options who both like to go hard early, and the teenager Sooryavanshi is the one everyone wants a look at. Kuldeep, Varun and Axar should give Iyer plenty of control through the middle overs, though how much the New Zealand surfaces help them is another question. These pitches usually favour seam early, so a lot rests on Arshdeep and Bhuvneshwar with the new ball. We're following the squad all tour on our India cricket stream page.
New Zealand vs India T20I: the home side's injuries
New Zealand lost two players on 9 October, when batter Mark Chapman (hamstring) and all-rounder Zak Foulkes (hip flexor) were ruled out of the series. Josh Clarkson and Blair Tickner came in to replace them.
The rest of Santner's squad will look familiar. Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell do the batting, with Bevon Jacobs as well, and the pace group is Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith and Tickner. That's where New Zealand will try to win it. Under lights at Hagley Oval with the new ball swinging, I'd imagine Ferguson and Henry can't wait to bowl at India's young top order.
The tour from here
After the two games in Christchurch, the series goes to Wellington for the third match on Tuesday 27 October, Eden Park in Auckland for the fourth on 30 October, and Seddon Park in Hamilton for the last one on 1 November. The five ODIs run from 4 to 15 November, and the tour ends with two Tests, in Wellington and Christchurch, that count towards the World Test Championship. The full fixture list is on ESPN's series page.
India will learn which of the new faces can handle bouncy pitches, cold evenings and a swinging ball a long way from home. Both sides will be watching workloads, since many of these players are due in the ODIs just three days after the last T20I.
Start time and how to watch
Every game starts at 8pm NZDT, which is 12:30pm IST, 6pm AEDT and 8am in the UK for the two Christchurch games (7am from the third match, after the UK clocks change on 25 October). We couldn't find a confirmed broadcast deal, so check local listings. The DAMITV cricket hub will have every New Zealand vs India T20I live in HD, free and with no account, from about 15 minutes before the toss.
Our call
New Zealand to win the opener in Christchurch, where their seamers should love the conditions, and India's depth to win the series. Watch the first one on our cricket streams page.
