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India v New Zealand T20Is start Thursday: schedule, squads, timings and what to watch in Christchurch
India open a five-match T20I series at Hagley Oval on 22 October, with Shreyas Iyer as captain and Jasprit Bumrah rested. The schedule in IST, both squads, where to watch, and what follows: five ODIs and two Tests.
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India begin a five-match T20 international series against New Zealand on Thursday, 22 October, at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, with Shreyas Iyer leading a 16-man squad and Jasprit Bumrah rested. Every game starts at 8 pm local time, which is 12:30 pm in India, so the series will be played in the middle of the Indian working day. The two sides were the finalists of this year's T20 World Cup, which gives the series a little more weight than a usual bilateral tour.
The series at a glance
| Match | Date | Venue | Start (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I | Thu, 22 Oct | Hagley Oval, Christchurch | 12:30 pm |
| 2nd T20I | Sat, 24 Oct | Hagley Oval, Christchurch | 12:30 pm |
| 3rd T20I | Tue, 27 Oct | Hnry Stadium, Wellington | 12:30 pm |
| 4th T20I | Fri, 30 Oct | Eden Park, Auckland | 12:30 pm |
| 5th T20I | Sun, 1 Nov | Seddon Park, Hamilton | 12:30 pm |
In India the matches are on the Sony Sports Network channels and SonyLIV. In New Zealand they are on Sky Sport.
Squads and what to watch
Iyer's side has Tilak Varma as vice-captain and a batting group built around Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and the young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, with Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir behind them. Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns after nearly four years, and Varun Chakaravarthy is back from an injury. Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav complete the pace group, with Kuldeep Yadav the other spinner. Ravi Bishnoi is out.
The bowling is the question. India's last T20 series, against the West Indies, was shared 2-2 after the fifth match was washed out in Bengaluru, and the fast bowlers had a hard stretch in it. Fast-bowling coach Morne Morkel has spoken about the mental strain on the group.
Mitchell Santner captains New Zealand, who have a seven-strong pace attack of Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Blair Tickner and Nathan Smith. Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell make up much of the batting, with Bevon Jacobs and Josh Clarkson also named. Rachin Ravindra is out with a shoulder injury, and Milne's return adds to the pace. One preview notes that India have been unbeaten in T20Is in New Zealand since 2019.
The T20Is are the opening act of a long tour. India A play three multi-day matches against New Zealand A, in Lincoln, Christchurch and Lincoln, with Dhruv Jurel as captain and a squad that includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and, subject to fitness, Rishabh Pant. The senior side then plays five ODIs and two Tests.
| Match | Date | Venue | Start (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | Wed, 4 Nov | Auckland | 7:30 am |
| 2nd ODI | Sat, 7 Nov | Wellington | 7:30 am |
| 3rd ODI | Tue, 10 Nov | Hamilton | 7:30 am |
| 4th ODI | Fri, 13 Nov | Mount Maunganui | 7:30 am |
| 5th ODI | Sun, 15 Nov | Mount Maunganui | 7:30 am |
| 1st Test | 19–23 Nov | Wellington | 3:30 am |
| 2nd Test | 27 Nov – 1 Dec | Christchurch | 3:30 am |
Shubman Gill captains India in the first three ODIs and Iyer leads the side in the last two, which Gill will not play. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in both ODI squads, alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad, Naman Dhir, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj. Gill returns as captain for the Tests, with Jaiswal, Rahul, Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the squad; both Tests are part of the World Test Championship, in which the two sides are competing for a top-two finish. Gill's Test party also has Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep. Santner also leads New Zealand in the ODIs, where the squad for the first three games includes Tom Latham, Will Young, Mark Chapman and Rachin Ravindra. New Zealand's Test squad has not yet been announced.
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