Team India registered a six-wicket victory against New Zealand in the second T20I in Lucknow on Sunday to level the three-match series 1-1. The match turned out to be a low-scoring thriller as both teams struggled to put up a good show with the bat. Asked to bowl first, the Hardik Pandya-led side restricted the visitors to 99/8 in 20 overs. However, the hosts also lost some wickets in the chase but Suryakumar Yadav anchored the innings and took Team India across the line with one ball remaining. The result of the three-match series will now be declared in the third and final T20I on Wednesday in Ahmedabad. In the second match, Team India’s top order miserably failed to get a big score. This might open a door for batter Prithvi Shaw in the Playing XI.
Here’s our predicted India XI for the third T20I:
Prithvi Shaw: As Shubman Gill failed to deliver a good performance in the first two matches, the management might give him a chance to Prithvi Shaw in the third T20I. The 23-year-old batter, who played his last international match in 2021, had a blistering run in domestic cricket this year.
Ishan Kishan: The wicketkeeper-batter played yet another poor knock in the second T20I and got dismissed for 19 off 32 balls. He will look to redeem himself in the third match.
Suryakumar Yadav: The star batter came as a savior for India and remained unbeaten at 26 to take the hosts across the line in the second match. He will now eye bigger innings in the third T20I.
Rahul Tripathi: After falling for a duck in the first T20I, Tripathi was dismissed for 13 in the second match. The 31-year-old batter really needs to deliver a good performance in the next match.
Hardik Pandya: The skipper scalped one wicket and leaked 25 runs in his 4-over spell. Later, he stitched a match-winning partnership with Suryakumar Yadav, where he contributed 15* runs.
Deepak Hooda: The right-handed batter did not bat in the second T20I but gave a good performance with the ball. In his 4-over quota, he took one wicket and conceded only 17 runs.
Washington Sundar: The all-rounder conceded 17 runs and took one wicket in three overs. Apart from this, he also scored 10 runs before he was run out.
Kuldeep Yadav: The left-arm wrist spinner gave a good performance as he took one wicket and leaked only 17 runs in four overs.
Arshdeep Singh: The young India pacer, who had a forgettable outing in the first T20I, redeemed himself in the second match as he scalped two wickets and conceded only 7 runs in two overs.
Shivam Mavi: The right-handed pacer went wicketless and turned out to be expensive as he gave away 11 runs in one over.
Yuzvendra Chahal: The veteran spinner replaced Umran Malik and strengthened India’s spin attack. Chahal bowled two overs in the second T20I and gave away only four runs for two wickets.
