NZ vs IND: Match abandoned w/o a ball bowled

Without a single ball bowled, the first Twenty20 International between India and New Zealand has been postponed. The weather was pleasant in the morning, but it started to rain later and never stopped. The match has therefore been abandoned.

The second T20 will happen at the Under control Oval, Mount Maunganui on November 20, Sunday.

As they get ready to take on New Zealand, led by Kane Williamson, in the first of three T20I series matches in Wellington, Team India will attempt to restart their careers just a few days after they were eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2022. After losing in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, both teams will look to quickly recover with a winning start in this series.

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All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead India after the World Cup, giving regular captain Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli a break. VVS Laxman, director of the National Cricket Academy, will serve as the series’ interim coach, replacing even head coach Rahul Dravid. On the other hand, New Zealand, their home team, has dropped experienced players like Trent Boult and Martin Guptill for the T20 series and will try to give players like Finn Allen and pacer Adam Milne more chances. 

Finn Allen is now firmly established in the Kiwi line up. He was the World Cup’s discovery. During the media interaction earlier this week, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said, “Finn is a very exciting talent.” In the event that regular openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are unable to play, young tearaway Umran Malik may be given the chance to wreak havoc on the Kiwis in the windy Wellington. Young guns Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant will be expected to open the batting.