The young talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his comeback as India chose to bowl first in their second T20I against New Zealand at Hagley Oval on Saturday.
India introduced two changes to the lineup that successfully chased down a record 226 runs in the first T20I at the same location, with Prince Yadav replacing Mayank Yadav.
Sooryavanshi, who has been sidelined since the Asian Games, will bat at No. 3 instead of his usual opening position, as confirmed by captain Shreyas Iyer during the toss.
With Ishan Kishan unavailable due to a groin injury, Sooryavanshi’s inclusion was anticipated. “We’re opting to bowl first. Yes, that’s definitely a factor considering the dew. We’ve had some time to recover and catch up on sleep. Overall, everyone is in decent shape. Some players, including myself, train on match days, so we feel prepared,” Iyer stated.
He added, “It’s crucial to maintain our aggression and replicate the successful strategies from the first match. Additionally, we must be proactive in the field and avoid having an extra fielder inside the circle, particularly in the final over. With Ishan injured, Vaibhav steps in for him, and Prince replaces Mayank as a tactical adjustment. Vaibhav will bat at number three,” Iyer explained.
On the other hand, New Zealand also made a modification to their squad, bringing in Jacob Duffy for Adam Milne to manage their bowling resources ahead of upcoming Test matches. “We recognize our strengths as a team; despite some off moments, we fought hard and had a great match. Yesterday was a day to refresh. Duffy replaces Milne; that’s the only adjustment – just a rotation for our seamers with a lot of Test cricket on the horizon,” said New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner.
Playing XIs:
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav