India vs New Zealand | Pant, Kuldeep Could Get a Game as India Eye 5-0 Sweep

This could have very well been a decider. But New Zealand’s remarkable inability to close out matches, that led to two consecutive Super Overs, means the fifth T20I on Sunday (February 2) in Tauranga will be another dead-rubber.

India go into the final game of the five-match series with a chance of sweeping New Zealand. They came from behind twice in two consecutive matches, and will now be confident that they can win from any position. Indeed, that’s what they managed in the last two matches.

While Mohammed Shami stole the show in the third T20I with a brilliant last over – defending the nine runs that the Kiwis needed with Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor at the crease – it was Shardul Thakur who stole the show in Friday’s encounter, defending just seven runs and picking two wickets.



New Zealand, on the other hand, will be doubting themselves. They’ve choked even without pressure and find thesmselves playing for pride. They have to arrest the slide before losing becomes a habit. Their stand-in captain Tim Southee is under pressure too, after failing to defend scores in two consecutive Super Overs.

The game is yet another chance for India to finetune their combination with an eye on the T20 World Cup. They made three changes in the previous match, resting Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami to bring in Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini.

There could be more changes in store this game too, especially given Rishabh Pant is yet to play in the series. Pant was picked ahead of Samson in the squad, and it will be harsh if he ends the series without a game. It will also be a chance for him to regain his spot in the middle order.

Apart from Pant, Kuldeep Yadav is the only player in the squad to not play a game yet this series. He too could come in, perhaps for Yuzvendra Chahal.

New Zealand have been good in patches but need to finish matches. Martin Guptill and Colin Munro have been in decent hitting form but haven’t carried on. The way Munro was dismissed – run out in a lazy manner – in the previous match cost New Zealand big. Ross Taylor has failed to finish in two consecutive games. It’s these tree who have to step up, especially if Williamson fails to recover from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the previous game.

The bowling lacks experience, but the experienced Southee is not in form either. They did a good job in the previous match to restrict India to 165, although they should have done much better given India were 88 for 6.

Irrespective of the combination the teams go with, given the way India have fought from tough situations in the last two matches, they’ll be favourites for sweeping the series.

India Squad: KL Rahul(w), Sanju Samson, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant

New Zealand Squad: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Tim Seifert(w), Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett, Blair Tickner