(Cricket news) New Zealand are fresh off a runner up finish in the ICC T20 World Cup as they begin their tour of India tomorrow. The Kiwis are favourites as their form has been devastating to the opponents, with few players opting to rest because of the schedule they still have a competent team to give a tough fight at Jaipur for the first T20 out of three. India has won 8 matches against the Kiwis while they have won 9 matches in the overall head to head.

The New Zealand side has two experienced players leading the batting and bowling line up. Martin Guptill will be the leading batter as he is in form although they have focused more on the bowlers. Tim Southee will lead the bowlers along with speedster Lockie Ferugson and Trent Boult. Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner will look to take advantage of the bowling pitch.

The Indian side has also rested some of the players as Rohit Sharma will be leading the young side. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been included in the squad after his standout performance in IPL along with Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel. India has a balanced bowling attack which will look to  threaten the Black Caps as Bhuvaneshwar Kumar will be leading the pace attack and Ravichandran Ashwin will be the leading spinner. Venkatesh Iyer can also play a part of an all rounder along with Axar Patel. Yuzvendra Chahal has also been brought back into the side.

The last time these both met in a T20 match was at the World Cup when New Zealand had a humiliating victory over India and none of India’s bowlers who were in that match are playing this time. The Indian side will look not only for a victory but to crush the Kiwis as they have gotten a second chance immediately after their early World Cup exit. Rahul Dravid will look to begin his tenure as the coach on a winning note along with Rohit Sharma and vice captain KL Rahul.

"The long-term goal is to focus on the World Cup but we will focus on the process and every series from now on is important. We will try to see what combinations are perfect for us and can be used for the world cup but right now we will be focusing on one series at a time," said Rahul during a virtual press conference on Monday.

This will be the first T20 to be played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur as 19 ODI matches and one Test match had been played earlier. 

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