Rain threat looms as Pandya and new-look India hope to seize opportunity

Hardik Pandya and a new-look India were set to make a fresh start in Wellington but incessant rain meant the semi-final losers of the T20 World Cup were reduced to a two-match series. A further shortening of the series is a possibility as rain threatens to loom over Mount Maunganui as well.

This series was supposed to mark the beginning of a new direction for India in the T20I format.

Hardik Pandya has already led the team thrice. Twice against Ireland and once against the West Indies, but this series was supposed to mark the beginning of a new direction for India in the T20I format. A few matches against New Zealand will serve as a good starting point to see how the players respond under Pandya’s leadership, their approach towards the game, how they react to pressure, etc. But beyond all that, they will first hope that the weather remains clear.

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In the New Zealand camp, focus will be on their skipper Kane Williamson. He has been in the news of late. There were strike rate issues that kept cropping up during the multi-team event in Australia. While he was one of the big releases in the IPL just nine months after being the first player to be retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad. He will be keen to put everything behind him. And he will focus on what is in front of him, as will the rest of the New Zealand players.

Know when and where will the India vs New Zealand match take place

When: Sunday, November 20 at 7:30 PM Local Time (12:00 PM IST)

Where: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

What to expect: Thunderstorms are expected on the day of the match. And this could lead to interruption of play or wash out the match altogether. All T20Is have been won by the teams batting first at this venue.