With an aim to whitewash New Zealand in the three-match T20I series, India will host the visitors in the 3rd and final game of the white-ball series. The home team has won both the T20Is so far and they will whitewash Black Caps for the 2nd time if they register a win today.
Since the Men in Blue have already won the series, there are a couple of changes expected in the final XI as 4 players have been on the bench right since the start. The list includes Ishan Kishan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Avesh Khan.
While a couple of the benched players are expected to get a chance in the dead rubber, former India opener Robin Uthappa doesn’t think that it will happen. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Uthappa highlighted the high stakes involved and opined that India might field the same playing XI.
“Perhaps not because we all know how critical the Indian media is for the first series of a captain and coach and how big a deal being first-time captaincy has become. I think they’ll continue with it [the same team] and try and whitewash this series. So I don’t think there will be a lot of changes,” he told ESPNcricinfo.
Ishan, who was a member of India’s T20 World Cup squad, might only get a chance if Rishabh Pant is rested while Ruturaj is expected to walk in for KL Rahul, who is likely to be rested before the Test series. Avesh might walk in for either Deepak Chahar or Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The 3rd T20I of the series will be played in Kolkata from 7:00 PM IST. Following the T20I series, the two teams will square off in 2 Test matches in Kanpur and Mumbai. NZ haven’t played a Test match in India since 2016.
