Will India clinch away the T20I series too?

Maithilee Shetty

05 Feb 2019 00:00 IST

New Update

"We are looking forward to it – someone getting a hundred and a five-wicket haul": Ramesh Powar — India Team celebrating after taking a wicket. ©ICC

Date: 6 February 2019

Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington

India has dominated New Zealand from the start, winning the series of 2-1. After two massive wins at Napier and Mount Maunganui, India slipped to their first loss of the series, losing the final ODI in Hamilton by eight wickets. Although the One-day series concluded with a consolation win for the Kiwis, both the teams will take a few positives and learnings from the series.

India’s bowling has been immaculate. The spinning duo of Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht have particularly played a crucial role in taking the total of 16 wickets. India will miss the experience of Jhulan Goswami who has also been among the wickets. India has been backing on their top order batters. Smriti Mandhana is in formidable form, scoring a century in the first ODI and 90 in the next. The middle order had not been tested in the first two ODIs and couldn’t perform effectively in the last. A major plus for Team India is that the youngsters such as Jemimah (81) in the first ODI and Deepti Sharma (52) in the third ODI are among runs. India has to continue to work on their shortcomings and focus on the positives if they are determined to win the Twenty20.

On the other hand, New Zealand has played a good host to India. Losing the series, they need to back themselves. The White Ferns put up an all-round performance to clinch the win from India in the final ODI. They have majorly been let down by the batters and their approach had been muddled in the first 2 ODIs. They have to play the spinners better. The New Zealand bowlers were under pressure due to the lack of support of the batters. In the final ODI, it looked like a completely different side, they had an aggressive approach from the start and clear plan. To beat, India in T20Is, White Ferns will need to replicate their style in the upcoming series.

Who said what:

"I think overall the Indian team has always banked on the spinners and they've done well on this surface as well."- Mithali Raj

"We have got to be aggressive when they toss the ball up and that has been my biggest learning. We have to attack when we are having a partnership as both batters settled makes scoring a bit easier." - Suzie Bates

Teams:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Anuja Patil, Ekta Bisht, Dayalan Hemalatha, Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Priya Punia

New Zealand: Amy Satterthwaite (c), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sophie Devine, Katie Gurrey, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Frankie MacKay, Katey Martin, Rosemary Mair, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu

Watch the T20I series preview by Snehal Pradhan:

India Mithali Raj New Zealand WHITE FERNS Suzie Bates India Women Smy Satterthwaite