India vs New Zealand: Men in Blue aim to carry ODI form over to T20Is against Black Caps

Team India will look to maintain their winning run against New Zealand, albeit in a different format, when they take on the Black Caps in the first of three T20Is in Ranchi on Friday.

India have largely been victorious in the new year; they began the year by beating Sri Lanka 2-1 in a three-T20I series in Hardik Pandya’s first full series as captain at home. That was followed by identical 3-0 sweeps against the Lankans and the Black Caps as the Men in Blue maintained their stranglehold on visiting teams on their home turf.

As has been the case with India’s squads for recent T20 assignments, Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma will be absent, as will Virat Kohli and other seniors such as Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and KL Rahul, who only recently got married and will be back in action only during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Watch: MS Dhoni visits India dressing room ahead of T20Is against New Zealand

In a year where the ODI format takes centre-stage with a home World Cup looming, there isn’t much context for T20Is other than testing out various options in the lineup keeping next year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States in mind.

Hello Ranchi