IND vs NZ 3rd T20I: Dead rubber? Not really

With next year’s Twenty20 World Cup not far away, today’s third T20I against NZ presents India a chance to work on shortcomings after clinching series 2-0

That stoic gaze from the dugout may well soften up before the first ball is delivered at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. Rahul Dravid’s tenure as head coach of Team India has had a flying start with New Zealand, the team that jeopardised the Indian campaign in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup in the UAE, driven to the wrong end of a 2-0 series-clinching scoreline.

While some key players on both sides have given the T20Is the skip to put mind and matter into the Test series beginning later this month, the shortest version of the international game has been demanding increasing attention. Blame it on cricket’s latest cash cow.

Preparation time

The dust has hardly settled over the battles in the UAE that suddenly need to prepare for yet another T20 World Cup is upon teams. The Sunday showdown here is not a dead rubber; both teams would rather want to see it as the early building blocks of the challenge they wish to raise at the world meet Down Under in October. 

For a start, having won two crucial tosses in this series, the Indians may well want to push their bowling unit to defending a total under dew—and there’s usually plenty in these parts [East] at this time of the year.

While opener Martin Guptill has emerged as the biggest threat to the Indian bowlers with his uncluttered intent and clean strikes, the likes of Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman can join and really turn the heat on. The Indian bowlers have done exceptionally well to nip the threat in the bud. While Ravichandran Ashwin continues to shine on a remarkable comeback trail and others chip in nicely, it would be interesting to find out whether Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s mesmerising swing in the opening overs will finally prompt a more attacking field setting from new T20 skipper Rohit Sharma.

NZ’s potent bowling attack 

The Kiwi attack is the most potent in its first salvos. Trent Boult and Tim Southee can wreck an innings within the course of a few deliveries, and few know that better than the Indians. It’s just as well that openers Rohit and KL Rahul have currently got a measure of the two and the threat has been quelled to a great extent. Suryakumar Yadav’s form has provided the buffer.
It’s time to be bold, particularly on the part of the visitors. After the losses in Jaipur and Ranchi, here’s an opportunity to leave with some afterglow.

4
No. of T20I matches India have won against NZ at home, while losing three

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