India’s captain, Hardik Pandya, chose to have his team take the field first in the first T20I match against New Zealand in Ranchi on Sunday, after winning the toss. He explained his decision by saying that the dew factor would benefit the team that bats second.
“We will begin by bowling. The pitch looks good and there’s already dew present, so we want to bowl first,” said Pandya at the coin toss. He also revealed that the team had chosen Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar as the spin bowlers for the match instead of Yuzvendra Chahal and that Prithvi Shaw would not be playing. “Having played the ODIs before the T20Is makes it easier to make changes. For many of the players, just being on the team is an experience in itself. Yuzi, Mukesh, Jitesh, and Prithvi will not be playing,” said Pandya.
After India elected to field first, New Zealand’s opening batsmen began their innings with a strong start, with Finn Allen scoring heavily during the powerplay. With the score mounting against them, Hardik Pandya turned to all-rounder Washington Sundar for a breakthrough, who was able to deliver.
After being hit for a six on the first ball, Washington Sundar made a strong comeback by dismissing the dangerous Finn Allen. He continued his success by taking another wicket, that of Mark Chapman, in the same over, helping to turn the tide of the match. Sundar made an impressive one-handed catch on his own bowling to dismiss Chapman, who was unable to score any runs, diving full-length to his right.
Currently, Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway are at the crease. The team will be looking to score over 170 runs in order to provide their bowlers with a chance to compete against India’s powerful batting lineup.
