Upbeat India target series win against New Zealand in Guwahati
New Zealand have been blown away in the two games so far and will need a special show to stop the Indian juggernaut
Deivarayan Muthu
24-Jan-2026 • 4 hrs ago
Big picture - India flex their muscle and depth
India ticked some key boxes in the second T20I in Raipur: Suryakumar Yadav ended his T20I fifty drought and Ishan Kishan seamlessly slotted into Tilak Varma's slot. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested, and Axar Patel, who is nursing a finger injury, Kuldeep Yadav reunited with Varun Chakravarthy and put the skids under New Zealand despite the early onset of dew in Raipur.
Most other teams might find it tough to replace a versatile batter like Tilak, but India had Kishan walking in for the first over. By the time he walked back for 76 off 32 balls, India had zoomed ahead in a chase of 209. Suryakumar then went on to outscore Kishan and eventually made a mockery of the target. Unless the conditions change drastically after losing the toss, or there's a freakish performance from the opposition, India will remain the favourites for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
New Zealand are still waiting to put their full-strength XI out on the park as the World Cup approaches. Finn Allen, who is on a six-hitting spree in the Big Bash League (BBL), will link up with the side after featuring in the final for Perth Scorchers; he will likely be available for only the final T20I in Thiruvananthapuram. Fresh off winning the Bangladesh Premier League, allrounder Jimmy Neesham will also join the New Zealand side ahead of the third T20I in Guwahati. Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has already joined the team, but is working his way back from a calf injury.
Form guide - India on a roll
India WWWWL (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
New Zealand LLWWW
New Zealand LLWWW
In the spotlight - Shivam Dube and Rachin Ravindra
From once being a back-up for Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube has established himself as one of the main players in India's world-beating XI. While spin-hitting is his forte, he has also grown more comfortable against pace and offers handy overs with the ball. He has picked up at least one wicket in six of his last seven bowling innings.
T20 cricket is Rachin Ravindra's weakest format, but on Friday, he showed attacking enterprise in the powerplay. He pumped Varun for two sixes in the middle overs and scored 44 off 26 balls at a strike rate of 169.23, which is around thirty points above his career strike rate in T20s. New Zealand will want Ravindra to keep up this aggression and crack this format too.
Team news - Bumrah, Neesham could return
India may consider bringing Bumrah back as they push for a series win in Guwahati. There's no official update yet on the status of Axar's injury.
India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Harshit Rana/Jasprit Bumrah, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Axar Patel, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
Neesham is likely to return to the New Zealand XI in place of Zak Foulkes, who had a chastening outing in Raipur, where he conceded 67 runs in three overs for no wickets.
New Zealand (probable): 1 Tim Seifert (wk), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Jimmy Neesham, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Ish Sodhi
Pitch and conditions - Another run-fest on the cards?
The two most recent T20Is in Guwahati produced run-fests. 237 played 221 four years ago while 222 played 225 more recently in 2023. Will Guwahati serve up another high-scoring fixture? The dew could be a factor, influencing the team that wins the toss to bowl first. The weather is expected to be fine for the duration of this game.
Stats and trivia - Kuldeep has Chahal in sight
- India hunted down 209 on Friday, achieving their joint-highest successful T20I chase.
- Kuldeep is four wickets away from drawing level with Yuzvendra Chahal as the joint-highest wicket-taker among India spinners in T20Is.
- Since the end of the 2024 T20 World Cup, Jacob Duffy has taken 22 wickets in 25 innings in the powerplay in T20Is at an economy rate of 6.55. Only Zimbabwe's Richard Ngarava (25) has more wickets than Duffy in the powerplay during this period, with the benefit of more innings (35).
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo