/
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.
What did you think?
West Indies beat India by 24 runs in Hyderabad on 14 October, making 247/3 and bowling India out for 223 in 19.3 overs to level the T20I series 2–2. Shai Hope hit 102* and Keemo Paul took 5/41. The decider is on 17 October in Bengaluru.
Prateek Rawat5 min
You're all caught up.
India beat West Indies by 14 runs at Indore. India made 223 all out (20 overs) and West Indies finished on 209/7 (20 overs). West Indies fell 14 runs short of India's 223 all out. Abhishek Sharma made 69 off 30 balls and Arshdeep Singh took 3 for 44.
Prateek Rawat5 min
West Indies beat India by 6 wickets at Ranchi. India made 249/5 (20 overs) and West Indies finished on 252/4 (18.3 overs). West Indies chased down the target of 250 with 6 wickets in hand. Shai Hope made 102 not out off 45 balls and Roston Chase took 3 for 24.
Prateek Rawat5 min
India beat West Indies by 8 wickets at Lucknow. West Indies made 171 all out (19.1 overs) and India finished on 172/2 (14.4 overs). Shreyas Iyer made 102 not out off 43 balls and Naman Dhir took 3 for 31.
Prateek Rawat4 min
Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down as India women’s captain across formats on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, saying the decision was difficult but she will keep playing. The move follows a BCCI review meeting in Guwahati, with Smriti Mandhana widely expected to be in line to take over.
Prateek Rawat3 min
India made 351/7 in the third ODI in New Chandigarh, led by KL Rahul’s unbeaten 129 and Rohit Sharma’s 92. West Indies chased 352 with 352/5 in 48.2 overs to win by five wickets, with Shai Hope’s 162* sealing a 2–1 series win for India.
Prateek Rawat3 min
India made 211/6 and then held Pakistan to 192/6 to win the Asian Games men’s T20 final by 19 runs at Korogi Sports Park. Abhishek Sharma’s 61 set the tone before Tilak Varma’s 51* powered the finish, while Hasan Nawaz hit 96 in defeat.
Prateek Rawat3 min
India and Pakistan were set to contest the Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket gold-medal final in Nisshin, Japan on Saturday at 10:00 AM IST. India entered as defending champions; if no ball is bowled due to weather, the gold medal will be shared.
Prateek Rawat4 min
India thrashed Sri Lanka by 124 runs in the Asian Games men’s T20 semi-final in Nisshin on 1 October. India made 169/7 before bowling Sri Lanka out for 45 in 9.5 overs. India will play Pakistan in Saturday’s gold medal match.
Prateek Rawat3 min
Archery continued on Oct 1 at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya as the Games near their Oct 4 close. China has surged past 150 golds, powered by historic diving milestones, while Japan and South Korea set up a men’s football final.
Prateek Rawat5 min
India chased 406 with 406/2 in 43.3 overs to beat West Indies’ 405/7 by eight wickets in Guwahati and take an unassailable 2-0 ODI series lead. Shubman Gill hit 223* and Rohit Sharma 101.
Prateek Rawat4 min