India Face New Zealand in Second T20I Today in Raipur

Riding a strong wave of confidence in the shortest format, India will look to press home their advantage when they face New Zealand in the second T20 International at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur today evening.

The series opener offered the hosts close to a perfect response after last week’s disappointing 1–2 ODI series defeat, easing pressure on head coach Gautam Gambhir and restoring momentum in the T20 setup. India ticked most boxes in the opening game, combining fearless batting with another disciplined bowling display that continues to define their white-ball identity.

At either end of the innings, Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh stamped their authority with contrasting yet equally effective contributions, underlining India’s growing depth and flexibility in T20 batting. The bowling unit, meanwhile, delivered yet again — even without wickets for their talisman Jasprit Bumrah, whose mere presence continues to exert pressure on opposition batters.

Despite the comfortable start to the series, India will be keen to iron out a few creases. Captain Suryakumar Yadav remains one such concern. Though he managed a modest contribution in Nagpur, the Mumbai batter is still searching for the fluency and explosiveness that define his best T20 form.

Attention will also be firmly on the wicketkeeping duo of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, both of whom failed to convert promising starts in the first match. With competition for middle-order spots intensifying, consistency — not cameos — will be the demand.

For New Zealand, the Raipur encounter represents an opportunity to reset and strike back. With experienced campaigners such as Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips in their ranks, the visitors will hope for sharper execution, particularly against India’s varied bowling attack.

As India chase another commanding performance and the Kiwis look to stay alive in the series, Raipur is set for a high-intensity contest under lights.

Squads

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh

New Zealand: Tim Robinson, Devon Conway (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kristian Clarke, Zakary Foulkes

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