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India take a 1-0 lead into the second T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, at 12:30 pm IST on Saturday, without Ishan Kishan, who has an adductor strain. New Zealand must win to level the series, and India have conceded more than 200 in four completed T20Is in a row.

India can go 2-0 up in the five-match T20 series against New Zealand on Saturday, 24 October, in the second match at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The toss is at 12:00 pm IST and the match starts at 12:30 pm IST, which is 8 pm in Christchurch. India won the first match by four wickets with two balls to spare, so New Zealand need a win to level the series.
India will be without Ishan Kishan, who has a low-grade strain of the right adductor, picked up in the first match. The BCCI medical team is monitoring him, and Kumar Kushagra has been added as cover. Reports differ on his replacement in the XI: some name Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is 15 and has been mentioned as a possible debutant, others name Shivam Dube, and Varun Chakaravarthy has been mentioned as another option. India have not confirmed their team.
Predicted India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, a replacement for Kishan, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Yadav and Arshdeep Singh.
New Zealand, captained by Mitchell Santner, are expected to field Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Santner and a pace attack of Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and two others from Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson and Adam Milne.
India's 16-man squad for the series is led by Iyer, with Tilak Varma as his deputy, and Jasprit Bumrah has been rested. The schedule is below.
| Match | Date | Venue | Start (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I (India won) | 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 | Wellington | 12:30 pm |
| 4th T20I | Fri, 30 Oct | Auckland | 12:30 pm |
| 5th T20I | Sun, 1 Nov | Hamilton | 12:30 pm |
New Zealand made 225 for 4, with Glenn Phillips unbeaten on 82 off 40 balls, Finn Allen scoring 45 off 24 and Bevon Jacobs 31 off 16. India chased it in 19.4 overs: Sanju Samson made 67 off 33 and shared a 93-run opening stand with Abhishek Sharma, who made 29 off 12, India scored 94 in the powerplay, Shreyas Iyer made 42 and Naman Dhir finished on 42 not out off 15. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, on his return, went wicketless for 49 and Axar Patel took 1 for 51. The wider worry for India is that they have conceded more than 200 in four consecutive completed T20Is. Tilak Varma's batting at No. 3 in place of Kishan also drew criticism.
Hagley Oval is a good batting pitch with even bounce and enough pace, though it can help seamers early. Of the 20 men's T20Is played there, nine were won by the side batting first and 11 by the side bowling first, so captains may prefer to bowl after winning the toss. The average first-innings score is about 162 and the average second-innings score 134. The highest total is 236 for 4 by England against New Zealand, and the highest successful chase there is 230 for 6, which India made on Thursday.
The forecast is for a mostly sunny and dry day with a high of about 21 degrees Celsius, falling to 13 or 14 degrees in the evening, and winds of 13 to 15 km an hour that could help the fast bowlers. No rain is expected and a full match is likely.
Finn Allen has scored 69 off 33 balls against Arshdeep Singh, with 12 fours and two sixes. Mitchell Santner has dismissed Sanju Samson twice, conceding 21 runs off 23 balls. Axar Patel has dismissed Daryl Mitchell twice in 22 balls. India have won four of their last five T20Is against New Zealand.
In India, the match is on the Sony Sports Network channels and is streamed on the SonyLIV app and website. The next matches in the series are in Wellington on 27 October, Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November. A separate India A tour is also under way: India A and New Zealand A are playing their first unofficial Test, with New Zealand A's squad including Mariu, Nicholls, Lister and Hay.
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