IND vs NZ 2nd T20I: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the playing XI, but there is a twist

Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (BCCI Photo) India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl against New Zealand in the second T20 International on Saturday.India made two changes to their playing XI. Injured Ishan Kishan was replaced by 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi while Prince Yadav came in for Mayank Yadav.Iyer confirmed that Sooryavanshi will bat at No.3 and not open the innings. India will continue with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson as their opening pair.

Iyer explains India’s decision to bowl

Iyer said the possibility of dew was one of the reasons why India opted to bat first. He also emphasized the need to maintain the aggressive approach that helped the team in the first T20I.“We’re going to bowl first. Yes, definitely. That’s one of the reasons (the dew is a factor). We’ve had a bit of time to recover and catch up on sleep. I’d say everyone’s in decent shape. Some players, including me, are training on the day of the match. So we’re in a good place. It’s important to keep aggressive and repeat the things we did in the first game,” Shreasser.The Indian captain also highlighted the need to improve the team’s formation and avoid mistakes in the final overs.“Also, we have to be proactive in the field and make sure we don’t have another fielder in the circle, especially in the last game. Ishan is injured, so Vaibhav is coming in for him. Prince is coming in for Mayank, which is just a tactical change. He will be batting at number three (on Vaibhav’s batting),” the Indian captain said.

New Zealand made one change

New Zealand also made a change to their playing XI, with Jacob Duffy replacing Adam Milne.Captain Mitchell Santner said his team took positives from the first T20I despite losing the match in the final. He added that the team needs to improve its performance in key moments.“(In the 1st T20I) They are a very good team and I think we missed the mark a little bit. It comes from the way they approach their game. It was great cricket in the end. It’s disappointing to lose the last game but obviously there were a lot of positives. We have to do the little things better and see what happens,” Mitchell Santner said.Santner said the players were given time to rest after returning to the hotel late at night. With more matches to come, the team wanted to make sure they were all ready for the second T20I.“(In terms of preparation for this match) Training was optional. We had a morning session and didn’t get back here until around 2am so it was a day to freshen up, especially with the games coming thick and fast. I think the boys are rested and should be ready to go today,” he said.The New Zealand captain also explained that Duffy’s inclusion was part of the team’s rotation policy and was unrelated to Milne’s performance.“(On the changes) Duffy is coming in for Milne. With the amount of games coming up, not only T20s but also one-day internationals, there will be some rotation among the senior players, especially with a lot of Test cricket coming in. It’s nothing to do with performance, it’s just a bit of rotation and we’ll see what Duffy can do tonight,” Santner added.

India vs. New Zealand 2nd T20I: Playing XI

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson.