India and NZ return to Hagley Oval for another run fest

New nation, same job. India carried the run-rich theme of the West Indies series into the southern hemisphere, pipping New Zealand in a 225 vs 230 opener. Fortunately for the tourists, who are switching venues almost every other day, Hagley Oval will host the second T20I as well. “We’ve got to forget the jet lag,” Shreyas Iyer quipped after the first working day of a long tour. Before they moved from the South Island to the North Island, they would hopefully complete some of that recovery.

Even in their opening defeat, New Zealand had plenty of positives. A meaty total was created by Glenn Phillips' quick gear switching, Bevon Jacobs' fierce cameo, and a quick opening stand. Then, after India's initial blitz, they did well to come back. The hosts' final act was halted by Naman Dhir's late blitz, which prevented the chase from going off course.

Phillips recited the English alphabet from C to J when describing their alternative plans to counter India’s batting, particularly in the Powerplay. In hindsight, that jarringly stood out as a phase of improvement for New Zealand. As did their fielding, even if a peeved Phillips couldn’t come to a consensus with a journalist over the exact number of dropped catches.

What to expect: Given the dimensions, a 455-run aggregate wasn’t entirely expected, but it’s likely to play out the same way in the second game too. The second match also starts at 8 p.m. in cold weather with dew coming in quickly (the temperature usually falls below 20 degrees Celsius during the match). Iyer noted that the surface initially developed a bit slowly before becoming flatter. Sanju Samson also pointed out that there was plenty of swing to start with, but the ball nicely came off the surface. It’s the early movement seamers from both sides would want to capitalise on.

Team news

India

Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the second game due to a “low-grade, right adductor strain”, which could lead to a shuffle of the batting order. India could keep the same top three and add Shivam Dube to the middle order, which is why Tilak Varma was moved up to number three.

There’s a higher likelihood of fielding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, an option the batting coach Sitanshu Kotak hinted at ahead of the second game. The child prodigy, who competed at the Asian Games at the age of 15, has not yet been selected as their primary option. Unless they give Sooryavanshi a non-opener's role, which he hasn't done in his 42 T20 matches, if they do play him, one of Samson or Abhishek Sharma will have to drop to No. 3.

Kumar Kushagra has been added to act as Kishan's back-up now that Kishan is absent from the second gane.

Predicted XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi/Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav

New Zealand

The hosts wouldn't want to make any sudden changes because there aren't any immediate concerns. After the game, Phillips spoke about their rich fast-bowling depth, calling it a “great problem to have”. That rotation of those riches could kick in later in the series.

Matt Henry and Adam Milne went for plenty with the new ball, but if New Zealand do plan to rejig – now or later – they have the option of bringing in Kyle Jamieson or Jacob Duffy into the mix. Phillips said that he wouldn't bowl in the first game, which suggests that Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell will continue to split spin duties.

Predicted XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson