Big picture: Santner and Hardik impress
India and New Zealand have travelled the length and breadth of the country for six games in 14 days and we are finally at the end, with the T20I series tied at 1-1. It’s time for one last push, and then please remember to put those tray tables in the upright and locked position.
Both captains have actually been big gains for their sides. Santner has already shown the poise under pressure that he set out to have, and he seems to be an out-of-the-box thinker too. Dude asked Lockie Ferguson if he’d bowl offspin to make the most of a rank turner in Lucknow.
Form guide
India WLWLW (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
New Zealand LWTLL
In the spotlight: Kishan and Sodhi
Ishan Kishan scored 210 in one innings in December. In the next eight, he’s scored less than half that. This Indian team insists on giving its incumbents a long rope. Plus Kishan doubles up as the team’s wicketkeeper and presents a hard-hitting left-hand option at the top of the order. These are pluses every team looks for in the modern game. So his place is probably safe, but still, wouldn’t he love a match-defining innings in a series decider…
India (probable): 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Umran Malik, 11 Arshdeep Singh
Barring injury and other circumstances, it’s unlikely that New Zealand will want to make a lot of changes.
New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Blair Tickner
Pitch and conditions: The return of the belter?
The Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad has typically been a high-scoring venue for T20Is, with three of its last five games producing totals in excess of 160 in both innings, including a 224 for 2. The weather is set fair.