The touring Indian team will focus now on the shortest format of the game as they take on hosts New Zealand in a three-match T20I series.
India have won the five-series ODI series 4-1, with the lone aberration coming in the penultimate match in Hamilton.
This will be India's second bilateral T20I series in New Zealand. In 2009, India lost both the matches by seven at Christchurch and five wickets at Wellington respectively. In both the matches, former Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum hit half-centuries to set up the victories.
In Virat Kohli's absence, Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the side. And there will be more than a couple of changes in the playing XIs. But some of the constants will be the opening pair of Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and spin twin of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
The likes of Shubman Gill, the elder Pandya – Krunal; all three wicketkeeper-batsmen – MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be strong contenders to make the XIs. It will be a straight fight between Khaleel Ahmed and Siddarth Kaul for the second pacer.
Here's All You Need To Know About The First Match:
Date: February 6 (Wednesday)
Time: Toss At 12:00 PM IST
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
TV Guide: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Hotstar
Head-to-head:
New Zealand 6:2 India in eight matches. Last time, they meet at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, India won by six wickets in 2017. India's only other win came at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla during the 2017 series.
Likely XIs:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul.
Squads:
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, K Khaleel Ahmed, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
