Kotla prepares to bid Nehra goodbye

[Rendu]

New Zealand will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run in what will be Ashish Nehra's final international appearance © Cricbuzz

 

"Farewell Ashish Nehra" read a message above the sight screen amongst a commotion of sponsor names at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The first of the three Twenty20 Internationals against New Zealand on Wednesday (November 1) will be Ashish Nehra's last appearance for India, on his home ground, which lends more context to this series than there actually is.

 

 

Nehra had requested for the reservation of a whole box to have his friends and family at the venue for his last game for India. While all that is great, he is not a certain starter in the XI, although it could be assumed that he would be given that he was only named only for the first game in the 15-man squad for the series.

 

 

New Zealand, the No. 1 ranked T20I side in the world, need a series win to avoid being dethroned from the top spot while India, currently ranked fifth, require a 3-0 result to move up to second. While India have had their fair share of dominance over New Zealand over the years across the other formats, at least in terms of results, they are yet to beat them T20Is.

 

 

The visitors were up and about early on the eve of the opening T20I, engaging in a three-hour full-fledged training session. They first worked on their fielding drills, did some catching in the outfield followed by a hit-out in the nets, but not before Trent Boult and Tim Southee tried their hands at Tom Latham's keeping drill. Rest assured, New Zealand are in good hands, literally.

 

 

India, on the other hand, had an optional training session, with the big guns like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, etc. opting to rest it out. The likes of Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya and Shreyas Iyer chose to spend some time at the ground while coach Ravi Shasrti oversaw the session.

 

 

New Zealand have played a T20I at the Kotla before, in the World Twenty20 semifinal against England, but India haven't. Having won five of their six T20Is, it was at the Kotla that New Zealand picked up their first loss in India. With a piece of history on their side then, and a chance to move up the rankings, India's mission begins tomorrow. Meanwhile, with the one-day series lost in such close fashion, New Zealand will fancy their chances of walking away with at least a series win in the format that they're the best in the world.

 

 

When: India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I, November 1, 19:00 IST

 

 

Where: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

 

What to expect: A warm day in the capital with temperatures rising up to 32 in the day, but cooling off drastically in the evening. Dew factor will come into play. The outfield is always fast. Even if slow, the pitch will be a good one for batting.

 

 

Team News:

 

 

India: With India's T20I side being very identical to their ODI one, they will be forced to make one change if they decide to give Nehra his finale. They might also hand Shreyas Iyer his maiden international cap.

 

 

New Zealand: Colin de Grandhomme seemed to have been a bit under the weather, throwing up at the end of a long training session. Glenn Phillips might play his second T20I given the time he spent in the nets.

 

 

Did you know?

 

 

- India have never beaten New Zealand in a T20I in five attempts. New Zealand have won five of their six T20Is in India, with their only loss coming in Delhi.

 

 

- Virat Kohli averages 83.75 from seven innings at Kotla. He has scored 335 runs, scoring fifties in four out of the seven innings here.

 

 

- Michell Santner and Ish Sodhi both took ten wickets each in the World T20 in India last year. Santner's ten came at 11.40 apiece and an economy of 6.28 while Sodhi's came at 12.00 per wicket, at 6.10 per over.

 

 

What they said:

 

 

"Obviously now that I've been selected, I would hope to make the team. Even if I play even one match of the three T20Is, it would be a very nice feeling. It's not like I want to play or I don't want to play, meaning if I'm on the inside or the outside, I have to put in the effort in any means and the main thing is that the team should win" - Shreyas Iyer.

 

 

"Everyone looks forward to playing Twenty20. It's a lot of fun and all the players enjoy it. We've been lucky enough in the last couple of years to be successful at it, so looking forward to the series. It should be a good one" - Colin Munro.

 

 

Squads:

 

 

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Mohammed Siraj.

 

 

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.

 

 

© Cricbuzz

[GeorgeReddy]