Have India learnt anything? Of course, but is it substantial enough? Perhaps not!

Shubman Gill

Hardik Pandya

Washington Sundar

Umran Malik

Arshdeep Singh

Shivam Mavi

New Zealand tour of India, 2023

India

India conquer the New Zealand test but at what cost?

The South Africa white-ball captain was initially overlooked in the auction

Temba Bavuma

SA20 League, 2023

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

Temba Bavuma joins Sunrisers Eastern Cape for remainder of SA20

The leg-spinner recently became England's youngest Test player

Tom Abell

Saqib Mahmood

Rehan Ahmed

England tour of Bangladesh, 2023

England

Bangladesh

Rehan Ahmed receives maiden ODI, T20I call-up for Bangladesh tour

LIVE UPDATES: Ranji Trophy 2022/23 quarter-finals  

Ranji Trophy, 2022/23

Stumps: All to play for in Indore but PUN, KAR, BEN inch closer to semis

Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja has been given the green signal to join the Indian team camp ahead of the first Test 

Ravindra Jadeja

Shreyas Iyer

Australia tour of India, 2023

Shreyas Iyer ruled out of first Australia Test: Report

Brisbane, Trent Bridge, Lord’s, Adelaide, Vijay stood like a rock and weathered the storm

Murali Vijay

Virat Kohli

Shikhar Dhawan

Virender Sehwag

Gautam Gambhir

Chennai Super Kings

Murali Vijay: The Monk who  ̶s̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶ flaunted his Ferrari


After an emphatic 3-0 win in the ODI series against New Zealand, the Men in Blue were outplayed by the visiting side in the first of the three-match T20I series in Ranchi on Friday, January 27.&nbsp;On a surface that offered a significant amount of turn, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65859/washington-sundar/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Washington Sundar</a> produced an all-around performance for the home team with figures of 2 for 22 in four overs and smashed his maiden half-century to help India inch closer to the target.&nbsp;With the top order not contributing much in a 177-run chase, the southpaw stated that it was just a bad day for the team. &quot;I think it was just a one-off game. I don&#39;t think that just because it was spinning so much, we have to address anything as it was a one-off game,&quot; he said in the post-match presentation.&nbsp;&quot;If we got off to a flier or a better start, things would&#39;ve been much different. Obviously, it did spin, and you will see such wickets here and there. Players in our team have played on such wickets in the IPL and even in the Indian team. So, just that one-off game where certain things didn&#39;t go our way,&quot; he further added.To one of the questions regarding the batting order of the side, the 23-year-old had a rather surprising response and said, &quot;All of them have got so many runs in T20s. If you don&#39;t get your favourite biryani in one restaurant, will you never go there again? All of them have done well to get to this stage, and they keep doing well,&rdquo; he said.One of the talking points from India&#39;s defeat was the dismal outing of <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/67905/arshdeep-singh/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Arshdeep Singh</a>, as the left-arm seamer leaked 51 runs in four overs. Despite his struggle, Sundar defended the speedster and said, &quot;&quot;Arshdeep has taken so many wickets for India and in the IPL. We are also human beings, and we also want to play the sport. When the competition is very high, and the opposition is of the highest quality, such things can happen.&quot;The two sides will now lock horns in the second T20I on Sunday, January 29, at Lucknow.&nbsp;

The 23-year-old smashed his maiden half-century in Ranchi but failed to guide the team over the line as India fell short by 21 runs

New Zealand

It was just a one-off game: Sundar on loss in first T20I

Does it feel like D&eacute;j&agrave; vu?Is the year 2016?Nagpur, anyone?You are not alone! If you feel like we have gone through this, you are not alone. If you think that this is D&eacute;j&agrave; vu, you are not alone. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57903/mitchell-santner/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mitchell Santner</a> does something that he only knows why and for a healthy part of the yesteryears, it wasn&rsquo;t a surprise that the left-arm spinner was No.1 bowler in the shortest format.81 T20Is isn&rsquo;t a joke. 91 wickets, that&rsquo;s not so much, so how really has Santner proven to be dangerous to this Indian batting unit here in Ranchi? The left-arm spinner has an economy rate of 7.05, and to think of how many overs he has bowled in the powerplay, it&#39;s astonishing.On Friday (January 27), the left-arm spinner was untouchable. The way he turned the ball, it almost seemed like it was Nagpur all over again. Four overs, one maiden, just ELEVEN RUNS and two wickets. That&rsquo;s insane!An economy of 2.80 for a spinner in four overs is unheard of, and against a dangerous batting which consists of a batter who strikes at 180, close to impossible. You know what&rsquo;s better? Against <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/11803/suryakumar-yadav/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Suryakumar Yadav</a>, the left-arm spinner just conceded five runs. He bowled nine dot balls in a row to the right-hander, showing why he is perhaps one of the most consistent bowlers in world cricket.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674845502999-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Again, you wouldn&rsquo;t be wrong if you thought it was Nagpur all over again. In Nagpur as well, the left-arm spinner spun the ball as much, and conceded just 11 runs, picking up four wickets. Here, he picked up two wickets but conceded only 11. Everything around his spell was pretty uncanny. But what happened in Ranchi?*******<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/the-understated-brilliance-of-daniel-vettori-1674810213045" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">44 years ago, on this day, Daniel Vettori was born</a>. On his birthday, it was a fitting spell of left-arm spin from Santner, the man who was tasked with the job of filling those giant shoes. Santner made his debut all the way back in 2015, against England in Manchester.Since then, he has been involved in multiple memorable games for the BlackCaps but somehow year after year, the left-arm spinner has tasted sweet success in India. Santner has played only 12 matches, but in those 12 games in the country, the left-arm spinner has picked up 17 wickets, averaging 16.52.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674845542104-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Barring two innings, the 30-year-old has always picked up a wicket in the country. And thrice has he bowled with an economy rate of under 5 in the country, and four times under six. If you want to know how incredible that is, it is quite an achievement.But what made tonight&rsquo;s task more special was how he was against two of the in-form Indian batters &ndash; Shubman Gill and Suryakumar &ndash; and he made both their lives hell in a spell that saw the ball turn square and quite fair too. It was that kind of a night for the left-arm spinner, who in the post-match presentation joked that it was nice to see the ball spin a bit more.&ldquo;It was a bit of a shock for everyone involved, how much it kinda spun in the second innings. But it was a great game and it was pretty tight at the end. We saw a lot of runs in the ODI series and it was nice to see the ball spin a bit more,&rdquo; said Santner at the post-match presentation.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674845574640-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Even though they had scored 176 in the first innings here in Ranchi, there was a bit of doubt in Santner&#39;s mind on whether the dew would play that big a factor. Remember, Hardik Pandya at the toss stated clear as daylight that dew will play a huge role in the second innings, and as a spinner, that already is pretty detrimental.Why? Well, for starters, the ball is likely to skid more than turn given that it would be almost impossible to grip the ball. And that&rsquo;s exactly where Santner&rsquo;s captaincy and game awareness comes into the picture. India were already 15/2 before the left-arm spinner took the matter into his own hands and introduced himself into the attack.******************The first delivery, the ball stuck and spun miles away from the right-handed Gill, who was caught in two minds at the crease having premeditated pull-shot. Only five runs came off that. Even though Suryakumar had nicked a boundary off his bowling, he was brave to bowl another over against the right-hander.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674845687042-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">If it pays off, it is always brilliant but if it doesn&#39;t, it looks quite stupid doesn&rsquo;t it? That&rsquo;s where the experience of playing 81 T20Is comes into the picture. Santner has faced plenty of hitters in the past, and he understood the nuances of the shortest format. You don&rsquo;t always bowl to your strength, you sometimes assess the conditions and bowl to the weakness of the batters.But does Suryakumar have any weaknesses? At least the sample size of a year and a half suggests that there isn&rsquo;t much. Then how? That&rsquo;s where the left-arm spinner mixed up his over, sometimes with the length, sometimes with the line and most of the time with the pace. It was the change of pace that almost did it for Suryakumar in the over.What&rsquo;s more astonishing? He bowled a maiden to Suryakumar, in the powerplay. These are some of the things that were pretty unheard of before today. It also shows how Santner, one of the world&rsquo;s best spinners, likes to take on a challenge. It isn&rsquo;t the first time he has done it, and it won&rsquo;t be the last time.He came back just after the break, and yet again just conceded only one run. You think that&rsquo;s already quite a big thing, right? Nope, being the captain, he introduced himself back into the attack in the 16th over of the innings and only conceded five runs.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674845600055-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">To do it in one go, perhaps is heard of in T20I cricket. But to bowl three spells, and mastering a control across the three spells is pretty rare.&ldquo;That&#39;s always the challenge (on captain using himself). You don&#39;t want to be seen doing the easy overs and stuff like that. We knew it was spinning in the powerplay and it was nice to chip one out,&rdquo; Santner later revealed.During the course of the game, Santner bowled 18 dots, that&rsquo;s three maiden overs. He had also equalled an age-old record held by Vettori, who had bowled 18 too.That was Bangladesh, this was India. The bigger deal, this was in India in a ground that favoured sides chasing. It was that India, who had a quality batting unit. It was that India, who had smacked the leather out of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana.But this is Santner. He is made of a different gravy.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The left-arm spinner turns the clock all the way back to 2016 to put up an inspired performance

Mitchell Santner

Suryakumar Yadav

Spiderman Santner ‘turns’ Ranchi into Nagpur 

The JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi turned into a heaven for spinners and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57903/mitchell-santner/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mitchell Santner</a>, Ish Sodhi and Michael Bracewell dismantled India&rsquo;s batting line-up to give New Zealand a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series on Friday (January 27).Thanks to Finn Allen (23-ball 35), Devon Conway (35-ball 52) and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57444/daryl-mitchell/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daryl Mitchell</a> (30-ball 59*), New Zealand posted a challenging total of 176/6 in their 20 overs. Once they had runs on the board, Santner (2/11) led from the front and restricted India to 155/9. Just like most of us, Indian skipper <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63751/hardik-pandya/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hardik Pandya</a> was also surprised with how the surface behaved.&ldquo;No one even thought that the wicket would play like that and both teams were surprised. But they played better cricket on this and that&#39;s why the result end up like that. Actually, the new ball was turning more than the old one and the way it spun, way it bounced, it caught us by surprise,&rdquo; said Pandya at the post-match presentation ceremony.Santner too echoed the same sentiments. &ldquo;It was a bit of a shock for everyone involved, how much it kinda spun in the second innings. But it was a great game and it was pretty tight at the end, we saw a lot of runs in the ODI series and it was nice to see the ball spin a bit more,&rdquo; said the New Zealand captain.&ldquo;It was nice to chip away with some wickets in the powerplay and we had trouble doing that in the ODIs. That&#39;s always the challenge (on the captain using himself). You don&#39;t want to be seen doing the easy overs and stuff like that. We knew it was spinning in the powerplay and it was nice to chip one out.&rdquo;The Black Caps were 149/6 at the end of 19 overs but that&rsquo;s when Arshdeep Singh leaked three sixes and a four and conceded 27 runs in the final over. And, Pandya feels India ended up giving 20-25 runs more. &ldquo;On hindsight, I don&#39;t think this wicket was 177, we were poor with the ball and conceded 20-25 runs. It is a young group and we will only learn from this,&rdquo; said Pandya.India were outplayed but Washington Sundar had an outstanding game. The spin-bowling all-rounder first scalped 2/22 with his off-spin and then smoked 50 off 28 deliveries. &ldquo;The way he bowled, batted and fielded, it was Washington against New Zealand today. We needed someone who can bat and bowl, gives us a lot of confidence and it will help us going forward,&rdquo; said Pandya.The Player of the Match was Mitchell who blasted three fours and five maximums during his stay in the middle. &ldquo;It is nice to contribute to a score which helps us win a game. I thought the way the boys bowled at the end was pretty special. It is nice to take some momentum into the rest of the T20 series. The guys who went in early said it was pretty difficult against spin because of the tacky nature,&rdquo; said Mitchell.&ldquo;It was my job to build a partnership and then take the onus on myself after Conway&#39;s departure. For me it is being really present and really clear, keeping it simple as possible and trusting my skills, not everytime it comes off in T20 cricket but it is always nice when you get a few off the middle.&rdquo;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

New Zealand spinners Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Michael Bracewell dismantled India's batting line-up in the first T20I

Daryl Mitchell

Way it spun, way it bounced, it caught us by surprise: Pandya on Ranchi's surface

Former Australia captain <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/2394/ricky-ponting/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ricky Ponting</a> said when it comes to &ldquo;innovation and skill&rdquo; he hasn&rsquo;t seen anyone better than <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/11803/suryakumar-yadav/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Suryakumar Yadav</a> and feels that the Indian middle-order batter could even inspire a new breed of players to emulate his style of play and take T20 cricket to &quot;another level&quot; globally.&quot;I think innovation-wise, skill-wise, I haven&#39;t seen a better player (than Suryakumar) in the game. What it&#39;s going to do as well, a lot of other players are going to try and do the things he&#39;s doing and it&#39;s going to add another level of skill to the T20 game all around the world. Someone said during the IPL this year (2022), there are going to be guys who are going to try and do exactly the same as what Surya&#39;s doing, and that&#39;s going to be great for the game,&quot; Ponting told ICC.The 32-year-old is currently the top-ranked T20I batter and has been phenomenal in this format for India, having smashed 1578 runs in 43 innings at an average of 46.41 and a strike rate of 180.34. He was also named the ICC Men&#39;s T20I Cricketer of the Year after he became only the second batter in the world to score 1000-plus runs in a calendar year.&nbsp;Ponting said SKY is the greatest innovator in the shortest format of the game. &quot;He&#39;s probably doing it better than anyone&#39;s ever done it right now. We talk about players that can score 360 degrees &hellip; some of the shots he&#39;s hitting back behind the wicket-keeper and over fine leg are just remarkable.&quot;Ponting added that SKY has taken his stroke-play to another level and is playing some really audacious shots like flicking short balls for sixes over the wicketkeeper&#39;s head. &ldquo;Five or six years ago, he started doing that (innovating) a lot in the IPL. He was very good at flicking the ball over deep-backward square and getting the ball over fine-leg.&ldquo;Surya&#39;s now been able to hit short balls on the way up and flick short balls over the keeper&#39;s head and they&#39;re going for six, not just for four. I didn&#39;t think he&#39;d get to the level he&#39;s got to, to be quite honest.&ldquo;He&#39;s worked as hard as he has -- you can probably tell by his body shape. He&#39;s probably fitter than he&#39;s ever been, being around the Indian set up with the likes of Kohli and Shreyas Iyer and these guys, who are exceptionally fit young guys.&quot;(With inputs from PTI)Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The 32-year-old is currently the top-ranked T20I batter and has been phenomenal in this format for India

Ricky Ponting

Innovation-wise, skill-wise, I haven't seen a better player than SKY: Ponting

India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I, Ranchi: Live-Blog

As it happened: NZ go 1-0 up with a clinical 21-run win 

With non-stop cricket going on around the globe - dominated by various T20 leagues - every bilateral series comes with the question of significance attached to it. The upcoming India-New Zealand three-match T20I series, beginning on Friday (January 27) is no different, especially in an ODI World Cup year. However, it has some relevance attached to it.Both sides are now stepping into a reconstruction phase regarding their T20 setup, and although the focus is on the 50-over format, the T20 World Cup is only next year.&nbsp;For the third series in a row since the last World Cup in November 2022, India have kept <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3852/rohit-sharma/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rohit Sharma</a> and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3993/virat-kohli/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Virat Kohli</a> away from the T20I side. The head coach Rahul Dravid said he is not aware of any plans about split captaincy, the writing seems to be on the wall for the two veteran cricketers. New Zealand, meanwhile, are also attempting to move on from their celebrated group of cricketers that made them a force to reckon with in the 2010s, with none of Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Martin Guptill part of this tour and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57903/mitchell-santner/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mitchell Santner</a> leading the T20 side.The Kiwis would want to bounce back after suffering a clean sweep in the ODIs and improve their appalling record against India. Since 2018, they have lost 10 of their 14 T20Is versus the Men in Blue.&nbsp;Things to look out for&gt; <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66818/shubman-gill/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shubman Gill</a> has been in sparkling form in ODIs, scoring 1205 runs since July 2022, at an average of 86.1. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/shubman-has-done-well-and-will-start-the-series-pandya-1674752051438" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Skipper Hardik Pandya has confirmed him as Ishan Kishan&rsquo;s opening partner</a> in the first T20I. Albeit, there are doubts over Gill&rsquo;s spot in T20 cricket, primarily linked to his strike-rate. Since 2021, he has a T20 strike-rate of 118.8 in the powerplay. India were on a mission to bat risk-free in the build-up to the T20 World Cup last year. The semifinal defeat has only accentuated the need for it further.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674768881874-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Hence, there are question marks over Gill&rsquo;s incumbency as India&rsquo;s T20I opener in the absence of KL Rahul, especially with <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66812/prithvi-shaw/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Prithvi Shaw</a>, a more free-flowing hitter in the squad. While Pandya&rsquo;s comment about Gill leading the pecking order sounds right, the question arises if India have that pecking order sorted indeed. The NZ T20Is can clear the picture.&nbsp;&gt; The Kiwis seem set to hand a debut to <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/67886/benjamin-lister/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Benjamin Lister</a>, a 27-year-old left-arm seamer from Auckland. Lister stands as New Zealand&#39;s best bet to replace Trent Boult, from whom the Blackcaps are keen to move on after the 33-year released himself from the national contract. The Kiwis have quite a few pace-bowling options but none of them are left-arm seam-up candidates. Lister has been fast-forwarded to the national setup after impressing many with his domestic cricket exploits. New Zealand would be eager to see him repeat his success at the international level.&nbsp;Pitch and ConditionsRanchi&rsquo;s JSCA International Stadium Complex is still a fairly new T20 venue. It has hosted only three T20Is and 25 T20s overall since 2013. 16 of these 25 games have been won by the team bowling first as dew plays a big part and the numbers tell you the story.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674768829707-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Both sides can field more than two spin bowlers, including the part-time options. Hence, winning the toss and bowling first would be on the radar for both teams.&nbsp;Overall, at an average run rate of 7.8 since 2018, Ranchi is a venue for both batters and bowlers. The average first innings score has been 155.&nbsp;Tactical Nous&gt; <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65859/washington-sundar/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Washington Sundar</a> has bowled 49 out of his 105 T20I overs in the powerplay. Out of them, 33.2 overs have been against left-handers. However, given <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/13177/devon-conway/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Devon Conway</a>&rsquo;s exceptional record against off-spinners (average 51, strike-rate 150), the Men in Blue should refrain from their traditional use of Sundar&rsquo;s off-spinners.&nbsp;&gt; In T20Is since 2021, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63751/hardik-pandya/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hardik Pandya</a> averages 25.1 at a strike-rate of 146.7 at back-of-a-length deliveries and 9.4 at a strike-rate of 127 at short-pitched balls. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63719/lockie-ferguson/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lockie Ferguson</a> is someone who can strangle Pandya by pulling the length back. In overall T20s, Ferguson has bowled only six deliveries to Pandya, conceding only 3 runs while producing one dismissal.&nbsp;Probable XIsIndiaPandya has confirmed that Gill and Kishan will be openers. Rahul Tripathi should continue at number three. The only other spot up for grabs is of the specialist wrist-spinner, where <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63187/kuldeep-yadav/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kuldeep Yadav</a> currently seems to be ahead of <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/9844/yuzvendra-chahal/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yuzvendra Chahal</a> based on his recent form.&nbsp;Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya ( c ), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh&nbsp;New ZealandThe Blackcaps have a straightforward selection in the batting department. From their last T20I series, a 0-3 result against India only in November last year, Mark Chapman should replace Kane Williamson at three and Michael Bracewell is likely to take James Neesham&rsquo;s spot at number six. Blair Tickner and Ben Lister should keep Jacob Duffy and Henry Shipley on the bench. Ish Sodhi is fit and available for selection which comes as a big relief.Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner ( c ), Ish Sodhi, Ben Lister, Lockie Ferguson, Blair TickerPowered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Hardik Pandya will continue as skipper with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli being rested from the T20 setup for the third series in a row 

Devon Conway

Benjamin Lister

Lockie Ferguson

NZ aim to avenge ODI clean sweep in the T20I series 

Dashing opener Prithvi Shaw might have made his much-awaited return in the Indian T20I set-up but skipper <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63751/hardik-pandya/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hardik Pandya</a> has made it clear that it will be Shubman Gill who will be opening the innings in the first T20I against New Zealand in Ranchi on Friday (January 27).Gill has been in unbelievable form in the 50-over format. The young opener averages 73.76 in ODI and smashed scores of 208, 40* and 112 in the three ODIs against New Zealand. However, the right-hander has often been criticised for his strike rate in the shortest format of the game, while Shaw is someone who has a reputation of being an intent merchant and doesn&rsquo;t mind playing his shots from the word go.Gill also featured in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka and Pandya said India would stick with him, at least for now. &quot;Shubman has done well and will start the series. The way he is batting and was already in the team,&quot; said Hardik ahead of the first T20I.Meanwhile, Pandya bowled with the new ball in the T20Is against Sri Lanka and did the same in the third ODI against New Zealand in Indore with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj being rested from the game. The ace allrounder can now swing the ball both ways and said he enjoys bowling with the new ball.&quot;I have always enjoyed bowling with the new ball. Since quite a number of years whenever I bowl in the nets, I pick the new ball. I am used to the old ball so that I don&#39;t feel the need to practice with the old ball as much. It has helped in match situations.&quot;With our two main bowlers rested in the last game, I had to be ready. But (it) has never been about pressure, half of the times pressure is gone if you prepare well.&rdquo;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Look who came visiting at training today in Ranchi - the great <a href="https://twitter.com/msdhoni?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@msdhoni</a>! 😊<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamIndia</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvNZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/antqqYisOh">pic.twitter.com/antqqYisOh</a>&mdash; BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1618580080351129600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2023</a></blockquote>The first T20I is in Ranchi, the birthplace of India&rsquo;s most successful white-ball captain, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3676/ms-dhoni/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MS Dhoni</a>. And, the 41-year-old joined the Indian set-up during their training session on Thursday.&quot;Mahi bhai is here which is good as we get to meet him. We can get out of the hotel also (to meet him). Otherwise, the way we have played in the last one month, it has just been hotel to hotel.&quot;And when we meet we try to talk about life rather than the game. When we played together I learnt a lot from him. I have squeezed a lot out of him (knowledge)... there is not much left.&quot;Talking about the inclusion of dynamic wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, Pandya said: Jitesh has been rewarded for his performances. Unfortunately, Sanju Samson got injured and Jitesh got the opportunity.&quot;We will try to win obviously. New Zealand is a good team both in T20Is and ODIs. They always challenge you. We will have to be at their best to beat them.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The young opener who has been in superb form in the 50-over format will start ahead of Prithvi Shaw in the first T20I against New Zealand

Shubman has done well and will start the series: Pandya

After a clean-sweep in the ODI series, India will kick off the T20I series against New Zealand in Ranchi on Friday (January 27). The Men in Blue hold a brilliant record over the Kiwis in the last few years. Since 2018, India have lost only three T20Is against the Blackcaps while winning on 10 occasions. The tourists will also be missing their key players including both their regular captain as well as the stand-in skipper - Kane Williamson and Tim Southee respectively. Yet, they are a side that cannot be taken lightly.&nbsp;Ground Details and Team CombinationRanchi&rsquo;s JSCA International Stadium Complex is still a fairly new T20 venue. It has hosted only three T20Is and 25 T20s overall, since 2013. 16 of these 25 games have been won by the team bowling first. Dew plays a big part. Thus, you can chuck out the spinners of the team bowling second.Overall, at an average run-rate of 7.8 since 2018, Ranchi is a venue for both batters and bowlers. The average first innings score has been 155. It is a big venue so a lot of batters are holed out at the boundary ropes.&nbsp;Both sides have a number of all-rounders in their XIs. Picking the right ones can hold the key in this match.&nbsp;Suggested teams<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674750221152-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">While you could go for the above team, you can also choose your team from <a href="https://www.cricket.com/fantasy-research-center/219589/ind-vs-nz-1st-t20i-new-zealand-tour-of-india-2023" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cricket.com&rsquo;s Fantasy Research Centre</a>. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.Captaincy suggestionsFor small leagues: <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/13177/devon-conway/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Devon Conway</a> ( c ), <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/11803/suryakumar-yadav/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Suryakumar Yadav</a> (vc)For grand leagues: <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/13177/devon-conway/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hardik Pandya</a> ( c ), <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65295/glenn-phillips/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Glenn Phillips</a> (vc)Stats That Matter&gt; Spinners in Ranchi average 22 runs per wicket at an economy of 6.9 in the first innings as compared to 28.3 and 7.3 while bowling second. Dew has a clear effect.&nbsp;&gt; Devon Conway has been in hot form in 2023. Though he hasn&rsquo;t played any T20 cricket this year as yet, he has three hundreds in other formats in the month of January alone.&nbsp;&gt; Ruturaj Gaikwad is out of the series due to a wrist injury.&gt; <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/82969/umran-malik/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Umran Malik</a> is a wicket-taking machine. He has 34 wickets in 25 T20s since 2022. Among players available in this game, his wickets-per-innings ratio of 1.46 is the highest.&gt; <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63187/kuldeep-yadav/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kuldeep Yadav</a> has been on a redemption curve. In 2022, he snaffled 27 wickets at 16.1 balls apiece, his best bowling strike-rate since 2018.&nbsp;Grand League Punts&gt; <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66818/shubman-gill/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shubman Gill</a>&rsquo;s T20I career scores read 7, 5 and 46. However, given his brilliant ODI form, you can take a punt on him given the skipper Hardik Pandya has confirmed that the 23-year old will be playing in this fixture.&nbsp;&gt; Glenn Phillips averages 37.04 at a strike-rate of 152.1 in T20Is since 2021. He is a must-pick player for this fixture. However, you can also take your chance by selecting him as your captain or vice-captain.&nbsp;&gt; <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66984/shivam-mavi/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shivam Mavi</a> is fairly new to international cricket but can be a handy pick for this game. Depending on which team is fielding second, you can drop the respective spinners from that side and pick the Uttar Pradesh all-rounder.&nbsp;Here are the Top 10 Criclytics Projections&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674750133100-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Probable XIsNew Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner ( c ), Ish Sodhi, Ben Lister, Lockie Ferguson, Blair TickerIndia: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya ( c ), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Here are a few tips that could help you create your fantasy XI for the first T20I between India and New Zealand in Ranchi

Glenn Phillips

Kuldeep Yadav

Fantasy: Picking the right all-rounders could be key to success

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57903/mitchell-santner/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mitchell Santner</a> is part of the Chennai Super Kings set-up in the Indian Premier League and has worked with franchise&rsquo;s skipper MS Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming for a while now. The spin-bowling all-rounder, who is set to lead New Zealand in the three-match T20I series against India in the absence of Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, feels staying cool is his biggest strength as a leader.&quot;Yeah, I guess that (being cool) is my nature, and it has been like that for a little while now. But there&#39;s also nerves and it&#39;s very exciting to captain another series in India - it doesn&#39;t get much better than that. So, definitely looking forward to it,&quot; said Santner, who has previously led New Zealand in 10 T20Is, prior to the first T20I in Ranchi on Friday (January 27).&nbsp;&quot;If you look at both of them (MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming), they&#39;re very calm and very level-headed, which I like. So, I feel like I&#39;m similar to them in that respect and working alongside MS has been a pretty cool experience for a few years now. I guess it&#39;s nice to be back at his home ground (in Ranchi) as well. And Flem, he&#39;s the same, very level-headed and keeps it very relaxed and that&#39;s what we try to do in this (New Zealand) set-up as well.&quot;Santner has been part of the IPL for a while now and has also featured in other T20 leagues across the globe. The 30-year-old wants to use all those experiences and help New Zealand get the better of India in the T20I series, especially after having been whitewashed in the ODI series.&quot;Every time you come up and play on different surfaces and different conditions, it always helps. You know playing in the IPL is no different. We play at a lot of different grounds, a lot of different venues, and a lot of different surfaces. So getting a base understanding of each ground helps. Then obviously taking that experience into the game and see what works and what doesn&#39;t.&quot;The 50-over World Cup is also scheduled to be played in India later this year and Santner believes these three T20Is could help them prepare better for the showpiece event. &quot;Every time you play for your country is a great honour,&quot; Santner said.&quot;So, you want to put out the best that you can and I guess the way the way ODI cricket is going at the moment with high scores, you know it&#39;s not too different to T20. So banking the experiences in T20 cricket this year will be similar to what we got in the one-day series, where we saw some high scores and good hitting. I guess trying to bank those experiences from that series&hellip;yes, we obviously lost 3-0, but we showed glimpses in games that we want to take forward in this series.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The spin-bowling all-rounder feels staying cool is his biggest strength as a leader

MSD and Fleming are very calm, I'm similar to them: Santner

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66584/ruturaj-gaikwad/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ruturaj Gaikwad</a> has endured a rather tough start to his Indian career, with just 135 runs across eight T20I innings.&nbsp;If not for the lack of form, the right-hander has been on the wrong side of injury, with a wrist injury earlier ruling him out of last year&rsquo;s T20I against Sri Lanka. The right-hander also tested positive for COVID-19 during India&rsquo;s home ODI series against West Indies.Yet again, it is the wrist pain that has come haunting for the right-hander, who is ruled out of the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, Cricbuzz reported on Thursday (January 26). Gaikwad will now go back to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore for subsequent rehabilitation.With India having the likes of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Prithvi Shaw in the squad, it is unlikely that they will seek a replacement for the Chennai Super Kings&rsquo; star.&nbsp;The first T20I will be played in Ranchi on Friday (January 27), while the next two will be played in Lucknow (Sunday) and Ahmedabad (Wednesday).Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

A wrist pain has subsequently ruled the Indian opener out of the three-match series

IND vs NZ T20 1st T20I, New Zealand tour of India, 2023 - Commentary

IND VS NZ,1st T20I

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