In 2007, India won the first T-20 World Cup. The team suffered only one defeat in the tournament and that was against New Zealand. Even after this, it took 10 years for India to get its first win against this team. Now the picture has changed. Since 2020, India has won five consecutive bilateral T20 series against New Zealand. Of these, three series were played in India and two in New Zealand. The five-match series will start in New Zealand from October 22. How did this change happen, why is playing in New Zealand a different challenge for India and what questions will be in front of captain Shreyas Iyer this time? Let us understand this in 5 facts… 1. First win by 53 runs. The first T-20 match between India and New Zealand was held in Johannesburg in 2007. India lost in this by 10 runs. Even during the 2009 tour of New Zealand, Team India lost both the matches. Victory came close in Chennai in 2012, but the Indian team missed by one run. In the 2016 T20 World Cup, India lost by 47 runs despite playing on home ground in Nagpur. After consecutive failures, India defeated New Zealand for the first time on 1 November 2017 in Delhi. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan played innings of 80 runs each, helping the hosts score 202/3 in 20 overs. In reply, the Kiwi team could reach only 149/8. India won the match by 53 runs. 2. India’s dominance since 2020, won 5 consecutive series. India’s picture changed in 2020. The Indian team won all the matches in the five-match series on the New Zealand tour. Of these, two matches were tied after the stipulated 20 overs, but both times India won in the Super Over. Super Over is that extra over in which both the teams get a chance to play one over each to decide the tied match. After this, New Zealand came to tour India in 2021. The Indian team won all three matches and won the series 3-0. India won the series again in New Zealand in 2022-23. The first match could not be played due to rain. In the second match, with the help of Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 111 runs, India won by 65 runs. The third match was affected by rain and was tied under the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern (DLS) rule. This rule is used to compare the target of both the teams when overs are reduced due to rain. 3. The first win on New Zealand soil was achieved in 2019. The team had to wait till February 2019 for the first win on New Zealand soil. In the second match played in Auckland, India defeated New Zealand by seven wickets. However, the three-match series was won by New Zealand 2–1. It is not easy to play in New Zealand. The reason for this is the circumstances there. On some grounds, the new ball can give fast bowlers swing in the air and bounce from the pitch. The boundary of the field is also not the same in every direction, so the batsmen have to understand in which direction playing the shot will be more beneficial. 4. Defeated in the World Cup final in 2026. India also defeated New Zealand in the T-20 World Cup final this year. Batting first, India scored 255/5 in Ahmedabad on 8 March. Sanju Samson scored 89 runs on 46 balls, Ishan Kishan scored 54 runs on 25 balls and Abhishek Sharma scored 52 runs on 21 balls. India added 92 runs without losing any wicket in the first six overs of the innings i.e. powerplay. This meant that the team scored fast runs from the beginning and did not lose any wickets. In reply, New Zealand team was all out for 159 runs. Jasprit Bumrah took four wickets for 15 runs, while Akshar Patel got three wickets. 5. Keeping an eye on Shreyas’ captaincy and Bhuvneshwar’s return, India will be captained by Shreyas Iyer in this series and the New Zealand team will be led by Mitchell Santner. For Iyer, this series is not only an opportunity to continue the winning streak, but will also be a test of taking strategic decisions in foreign conditions. The captain has to take many decisions during the match. Which batsman should be sent in the beginning, which bowler should be given the ball at what time and how many wickets should be saved in the last overs to score runs quickly. India’s record abroad under Iyer’s captaincy has not been good. The team was defeated by Ireland for the first time. After this the team also had to face defeat from England. The return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar will also be important for India. He played his last match in November 2022. His specialty has been to rotate the ball in the air with the new ball.
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