India vs New Zealand, Ist T20I: Preview, when and where to watch and live streaming

India face New Zealand in the first T20I on Wednesday

Watch: Indian Cricket Team practices ahead of first T20I against New Zealand

Wellington, February 5: A rampant India, having hit the homestretch of a memorable three-month tour, will be fancying another series win when it takes on New Zealand in the opening T20 International in Wellington on Wednesday (February 6).

While regular skipper Virat Kohli is getting the much-needed rest, the Rohit Sharma-led squad will be hoping it has enough left in the tank to record a maiden T20 series win in New Zealand, following a record 4-1 result in ODIs and a historic tour of Australia. Here's the MyKhel Preview of the first India vs New Zealand T20I.

Team News: India

The preceding ODI series might have solved a part of the puzzle as India looks to finalise its 15 for the ICC World Cup 2019. But there are still a few spots up for grabs and the T20 series can help the team management zero in on the squad. Young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, who was not part of the ODIs, returns hungrier and has a big opportunity to stake a claim for a World Cup spot. Veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also back in the T20 mix after being omitted from the series against Australia. The 19-year-old Shubman Gill showed glimpses of his talent despite two low scores, but in Kohli's absence, he might get to bat at number three again. Besides Pant, the others who have joined the team are spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya and Punjab pacer Siddharth Kaul.

Team News: New Zealand

New Zealand will be desperate to turn things around after a 1-4 drubbing. It does hold an upper hand over India in the shortest format. It defeated India 2-0 in the 2008-09 in the sole bilateral series played on New Zealand soil till date. The Black Caps edged the sub-continental side 1-0 in a two-match away series in 2012 before losing 1-2 in India in 2017-18. The ball swung initially at the Westpac Stadium on Sunday and New Zealand pacers will be itching to exploit that but they won't have the services of premier fast bowler Trent Boult, who has been rested. It will be interesting to see what rookie all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and pacer Blair Tickner do in their debut series.

The Squads

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner, James Neesham.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Siraj.

Telecast details

The match will be on air from 12.30 PM IST on Star Sports Networks. It will also be streamed live on HotStar and you can also follow the MyKhel Live Updates.