New Zealand Vs India: Men In Blue Look To Start Afresh Amid Rain Threat At Mount Maunganui

Tauranga (New Zealand): Hardik Pandya and Co. would look to put behind their recent world cup debacle to regain lost glory, but the rain gods do not seem to be in the mood to let them do so. Owing to a wet weekend, the series has already been cut down to two games. There is a chance that the series will be shortened further because Mount Maunganui is also threatened by impending rains.

Although Pandya has already taken the team’s helm three times—twice against Ireland and once against the West Indies—this series was meant to signal a change in India’s T20I strategy. A few games against New Zealand would be a good place to start to gauge how the team responds to Pandya’s captaincy, their game plan, how they handle pressure, etc. Beyond all of that, they will first pray for continued good weather.

The centre of attention in the New Zealand camp will be on their skipper Kane Williamson, who has received a lot of recent media attention. He was one of the big releases in the IPL just nine months after becoming the first player to be retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad, but strike rate problems continued cropping up during the T20 World Cup in Australia. He, along with the other New Zealand players, will be eager to put everything behind them and concentrate on what lies in front of them.