Lagatar24 Desk
Dubai, Oct 31: Team India will face New Zealand in the second match on Sunday in the Super 12 stage of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.
Both the teams had to face defeat against Pakistan in their first match, so this match has become like quarter final in a way. The road to the semi-finals will be easy for the winning team. At the same time, it will be very difficult for the losing team to reach the last four.
Pakistan have virtually sealed their spot in the semifinal from the group, by beating India, New Zealand and Afghanistan. Now, only one more team can qualify from the group, in this way this match can be seen as the virtual quarter-final.
India has not won any ICC event over New Zealand since 2003. In the semi-final (2019) of the last ODI World Cup and the final (2021) of the World Test Championship, India was defeated by New Zealand. Both the teams have faced each other twice in the T20 World Cup and New Zealand won both the times.
In Indian team, Hardik Pandya has started bowling again in the nets. If Pandya bowls, India’s progress in the World Cup can be supported. With Pandya bowling, captain Virat Kohli will have 6 bowling options. Also the Indian team generally does not change much in the playing 11. Nevertheless, it is expected that Shardul Thakur can get a chance in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar for this match. However, no indication was given by the Indian team till now.
On the other hand, Devon Conway has made a great start to his career. He left South Africa and came to New Zealand and became a cricketer. The result was that he won a world title (T20 World Cup) within his first year of international cricket. Now, this time he must be looking for a second world championship.
The match will start at 7:30 PM at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
