New Zealand vs India, 4th T20I, Wellington: Preview, prediction, likely XIs

Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor were still out there when New Zealand needed 3 from 5 balls to stay alive in the series. They managed just 2 as Mohammed Shami put on show one of the most incredible death-over shows. Then, with 10 to get off the last 2 balls in the Super Over, Rohit Sharma lofted Tim Southee for two sixes to help India clinch the series.

To be fair, however, New Zealand competed better in the third T20I, at Seddon Park, than they had in the two before that. Williamson’s 48-ball 95, followed by a 4-ball 11 not out in the Super Over, was largely responsible for that, though the spinners – Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner – had impressed in the middle overs.

As for India, Rohit got runs for the first time, which means that the top five are all in form. Jasprit Bumrah’s rare off-day should not worry the Indians too much. However, with the ODIs and Tests coming up, they may want to rest their first-choice Test bowlers – Bumrah, Shami, Ravindra Jadeja – and try out the likes of Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington Sundar.

India have dominated the series, but New Zealand did match them in the third T20I till the last 5 balls of the match and the last 2 in the Super Over. That might have shifted the momentum a bit.

Head to head

The win at Seddon Park technically counts as a tie, so New Zealand still hold an 8-5 advantage over India.

Key players

Kane Williamson (New Zealand): That New Zealand lost the third T20I should not take the sheen away from Williamson’s superlative show. He did the unthinkable by mastering Bumrah whenever the two faced off, which is something the Wellington crowd will be looking forward to.

Ravindra Jadeja (India): Jadeja’s series performance so far (10-0-59-4 on small grounds) has gone virtually unnoticed. As always, he will render yeoman services – perhaps with bat as well, as he did during his Seddon Park cameo.

Likely XIs

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Seifert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett, Blair Tickner.

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Prediction

New Zealand to pull one back.