Raipur’s Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium set the stage for high-stakes action as India seized the toss advantage in the second T20 against New Zealand. Captain Suryakumar Yadav opted to bowl, citing early dew and a desire to chase, in a bid to bounce back from the first match’s 48-run defeat.
Strategic tweaks defined the day. India dropped injured Axar Patel and rested star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, bringing in the fiery Harshit Rana and spinner Kuldeep Yadav to refresh the attack.
New Zealand countered aggressively with three swaps: Tim Seifert, Matt Henry, and Jack Foulkes entered, replacing Robinson, Jamieson, and Clarke, injecting fresh energy into their batting and bowling.
At the toss, SKY was candid: ‘Dew is a factor here. We want to chase runs. Every match is about growth in batting, bowling, fielding. Axar injured, Bumrah rested—two changes.’
Santner responded: ‘Bowling first was our plan too. Facing top sides away sharpens skills. Changes: Seifert in for Robinson, Foulkes for Clarke, Henry added.’
Full India XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
NZ XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Jack Foulkes, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy.
Coming off a 1-2 ODI series loss, India seeks momentum. Head-to-head T20 stats favor India 13-10 since 2007, with three ties favoring NZ. Upcoming games promise intensity in Guwahati, Vizag, and Trivandrum.