India Vs New Zealand, T20 World Cup 2021, Highlights: Williamson & Co. win by 8 wickets

After winning the match, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson during the post-match press conference said, "There's always planning going into the game, but this was a great performance against a side that puts up a fight. The surface wasn't easy to find a rhythm on, and the way the openers came out really set things up for the chase. It's just about adapting to the conditions as well as we could. The way the spinners kept applying pressure was commendable and it was a complete performance. We play against strong teams all the time, and there are match-winners in every side, and we commit to our brand of cricket and today was a good example of that. Ish is an outstanding white-ball bowler, and he's very experienced in playing T20 cricket, having played in different leagues all over the world, and we're looking forward to the rest of the games in the league stages."

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Virat Kohli said, "I don't think we were brave enough with bat/ball. We obviously didn't have much to play with the ball. We were just not brave enough in our body language when we entered the field and NZ had better intensity, body language. Every time we took a chance, we lost a wicket. It's most often a result of hesitation of whether you should go for a shot or not. When you play for India, there are loads of expectations. We are watched, people come to the stadium and everyone who plays for India needs to embrace that and cope with it. We haven't done that in these two games, and that's why we haven't won. We have to be optimistic and positive and take calculated risks. We have to disconnect from the pressure and continue with our process and play a positive brand of cricket. There's a lot of cricket to play in the tournament."

Kane Williamson hits the winning run as New Zealand defeats India by 8 wickets. 

NZ: 111-2 (14.3 Ov)

NZ 96/2 (13.1)

Jasprit Bumrah has bagged his second wicket, however, New Zealand are well ahead. Daryl Mitchell departs on 49. 

NZ 96/2 (12.4)

New Zealand need 15 runs in 44 balls

Hardik Pandya has finally donned the bowling shows for India, however, it might be too late for the 'Men in Blue'. 

NZ 91/1 (11.3)

New Zealand opener Daryl Mitchell smashed Shardul Thakur for 14 runs in his first over and put the 'Black Caps' in a total control. 

NZ 83/1 (10)

New Zealand need 28 runs in 60 balls

Ravindra Jadeja missed a direct dit as opener Mitchell survives a run-out. New Zealand sailing towards victory. 

NZ 69/1 (9)

New Zealand need 42 runs in 66 balls

Mohammed Shami gave away 11 runs in his first over as Williamson hits him for six. 

NZ 56/1 (7.1)

Opener Daryl Mitchell smashed six and two boundaries in Jadeja's first over as New Zealand chasing the small total strongly. 

NZ 44/1 (6)

Virat Chakaravrathy bowled 3 overs of his bowling quota inside the powerplay. Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell looking to weave a partnership. 

NZ 30/1 (5.1)

Jasprit Bumrah outfoxed Martin Guptill on his slower ball as the batter tried to hit him over long-on. 

NZ 27/1 (3.5)

Martin Guptill smashed Chakaravarthy for back-to-back boundaries as New Zealand starts their chase carefully. 

NZ 24/0 (3.3)

Jasprit Bumrah bowls a brilliant first over and gave away only 1 run in his first over. 

NZ 10/0 (2.2)

Varun Chakaravathy starts with the new ball as India looks to defend a small target of 110 runs in 20 overs. 

NZ 5/0 (1)

Courtesy of Ravindra's six, India posted a total of 110 runs in 20 Overs. New Zealand needs 111 runs in 20 overs. 

IND 110/7 (20)

IND 101/7 (19.1)

Shardul Thakur too failed to deliver with the bat as Trent Boult scalped his third wicket of the night. 

IND 98/7 (18.5)

IND 94/6 (18.3)

Ravindra Jadeja finished the 17th over with a much needed boundary as the last 2 overs remaining for Team India. 

IND 94/5 (18) 

On the first ball of the 18th Over, Hardik Pandya hit straight to the mid-off and gave his wicket to Trent Boult. 

IND 94/6 (18.1)

Ish Sodhi finished his 4 overs spell and gave away only 17 runs and scaled 2 wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. 

82-5 (16.5 Ov)

With few overs to go, former Indian cricketer, Yuvraj Singh urged Virat Kohli & CO to have self-belief and push for a good total. 

IND 78/5 (16)

Playing probable do-or-die match, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are in the middle and final few overs to go before the first innings ends. 

IND 76/5 (15.3)

New Zealand speedster Adam Milne clean-bowled Rishabh Pant who was looking to break the shackles. Pant was dismissed on 12 runs off 19 balls. 

IND 70/5 (14.3)

James Neesham almost took a blinder at the boundary line when Hardik Pandya's top=edge was going for a six. 

IND 67/4 (14)

Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant are looking to weave a partnership and rebuild Team India's innings to post a competitive total at Dubai International Stadium. 

IND 64/4 (13.2)

Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner has finished his 4 overs quota against India and gave away only 15 runs restricting the run-flow for Virat Kohli & Co. 

IND 58/4 (12)

Team India skipper Virat Kohli tried to break the shackles and hit straight to long-on. Kohli departs on 9. 'Birthday boy' Ish Sodhi gets his second wicket.

IND 48/4 (10.1)

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has opined that Team India might not qualify for the semi-final as New Zealand has given them jolts in quick succession. 

IND 48/3 (10)

India have been put under massive pressure by New Zealand after the loss of three key wickets in the powerplay. India are batting at 43/3 in 9 overs. 

Rohit Sharma has been dismissed by Ish Sodhi for 14 off 14 balls. Earlier, he was provided a second chance by Adam Milne, who dropped him on his very first delivery. India at 40/3

New Zealand have put India under massive pressure by picking two wickets in the powerplay. India are currently batting at 37/2 in 7 overs. 

India have lost another wicket in the form of KL Rahul as the opener was dismissed by Tim Southee for 18 runs off 15 balls. 

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are steadily rebuilding the Indian innings with the Kohli-led side currently batting at 29/1 in 5 overs. 

Indian batters Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are at the crease with the scoreboard reading 14/1 in 4 overs. 

Ishan Kishan has been dismissed by Trent Boult for just 4 runs in the 3rd over of the game. Daryl Mitchell took an amazing catch at the boundary to send Kishan back to the pavilion. 

India has scored 6 runs in 2 overs with New Zealand putting pressure on openers after winning the toss and deciding to field first. 

In a massive surprise, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has decided to open the batting with KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan instead of his regular opener Rohit Sharma. 

With Ishan Kishan coming into the playing XI opening for Team India, cricket experts during the live broadcast expressed that it will be interesting to see who will bat at number 3- KL Rahul or Virat Kohli?

Talking to the broadcasters, Trent Boult expressed his wish to bowl with the new ball against India. He said, "Bubble life at its finest really, some good time to prepare for a big match tonight. The boys are very eager and excited to get out there today. The boys are in good spirits, spent a lot of time together with the bubble life that we are in. It's an exciting tournament, seems like there's been a lot of cricket played by a lot of the other teams. Hopefully we can get on a bit of a roll. Played a little bit here in the last couple of months but every wicket is different here and you're looking for the overhead and see if it's going to swing. We've done enough planning and it's just about going out there and putting that on the page and see what happens. Not too bad, not much swing there in the early stages. Hopefully I can get the ball in my hand earlier tonight and see what happens. Win the toss and go big (chuckles)."

After Virat Kohli revealed that Suryakumar Yadav misses out on the playing XI against New Zealand, BCCI shared the health update of the champion cricketer. 

During the toss, Kane Williamson said, "We are going to bowl, dew factor at this time of the year. Look forward to another challenge. One change, Adam Milne comes in for Tim Seifert. Just to balance our bowling attack. Conway will keep."

During the toss, Virat Kohli said, "We would have bowled first as well. We need a solid start and have wickets in hand to get those extra 20-25 runs are the learnings from the last game. We do have the bowling line-up to take wickets, but when you don't have runs on the board one partnership can take the game away from you. We understand that and plans are there to get those extra runs. It's ridiculous, we are playing twice in 10 days. Too long a break, but yeah, the guys have recovered well. Had good practice sessions, are itching to go out on the field, which is a good thing. When you have so many days off you want to get on the park and get into the groove. It's another opportunity to come out and correct the mistakes. Two changes. One forced, Surya has a lower back spasm, so Ishan Kishan will replace him and open the batting. Shardul Thakur replaces Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson(c), James Neesham, Devon Conway(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult

Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

During the toss, Virat Kohli announced that Ishan Kishan makes it into the playing XI in place of injured Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson wins the toss and elected to bowl first ina crucial match against India

Virat Kohli during the press conference also admitted that the toss is becoming a big factor in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

"Yeah, it will continue to be a big factor and that is the nature of the tournament. You can look at the situation in two ways, you can bank too much on the toss and you can challenge yourselves as a team that even if you lose the toss, you are good enough to bowl or bat at any situation. Two-three overs can change the course of the game, for us, our only focus is how those eleven individuals are placed mentally," said Kohli.

New Zealand's speedster Trent Boult, during a press conference, had stated that will try to replicate Shaheen Afridi's spell and try to do exactly what the Pakistan pacer did against India.

Team India skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday addressed the media in a pre-match press conference and answered a series of questions ahead of their match against the 'Black Caps'. Among the many questions, Virat Kohli reacted to Trent Boult's threat that he will emulate Shaheen Afridi's spell against Team India on October 31. Trent Boult, during a press conference had stated that will try to replicate Shaheen Afridi's spell and try to do exactly what the Pakistan pacer did against India.

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Indian skipper Virat Kohli has hinted at a major change in the playing XI ahead of the New Zealand clash in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup. When asked about Shardul Thakur's inclusion in the final XI, Kohli said the Mumbai all-rounder is "definitely" in their plans but refused to reveal what role he will play or where he fits in the team. Kohli praised Shardul, saying that he is someone who adds a lot of value to the team. 

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Ahead of the much-awaited clash against New Zealand in the upcoming T20 World Cup match on Sunday, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has named his playing XI for Team India. Sehwag made only one key change to the Indian cricket team that played against Pakistan in their opening fixture of the Super-12 stage of the ongoing World Cup. The former Indian opener took to his official Koo account on Sunday and replaced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar with pace bowling allrounder Shardul Thakur in his playing XI for India.

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Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman revealed that Shardul Thakur to replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the playing XI for tonight's clash against New Zealand. Laxman, while speaking on Star Sports, said he would pick Shardul ahead of Bhuvneshwar given that the Mumbai all-rounder is a wicket-taking option and can also provide some depth in the batting lineup. VVS Laxman added that Bhuvneshwar is an experienced player, but Shardul could help balance the combination of the playing XI. 

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Indian cricket team will face New Zealand in their second match of the Super-12 stage of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on October 31 at the Dubai International Stadium. This is the second time in 2021 that both teams will lock horns in an ICC tournament after the ICC Test Championship final in June. India is one of the strongest sides in world cricket while playing the various ICC tournaments, however, they last defeated New Zealand in an ICC tournament, 18 years ago. 

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Team India will face New Zealand in their second match of the Super-12 stage of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on October 31 at the Dubai International Stadium. This is the second time in 2021 that both teams will lock horns in an ICC tournament after the ICC Test Championship final in June. Team India is one of the strongest cricket teams around the world, however, the 'Men in Blue'  last defeated New Zealand in an ICC tournament, 18 years ago. India vs New Zealand match will kickstart at 7:30 PM IST at the Dubai International Stadium. 

India vs New Zealand contest has been turned into a probable do-or-die match as both the teams have been defeated in their match against Pakistan and only two teams will qualify for the sem-final of the T20 World Cup. In terms of the team, Virat Kohli on Saturday stated that speedster Shardul Thakur is certainly in his plans hinting that the speedster might get a chance against the 'Black Caps'. Apart from Shardul, Hardik Pandya too bowled for some time in the nets indicating that he might roll his arms for a few overs against New Zeland. 

In terms of New Zealand, opener Martin Guptill, who had suffered a toe injury, has regained fitness and is available for selection for the T20 World Cup 2021 match against India. Guptill was hit on his left foot during his side’s defeat against Pakistan. 

With both teams playing to increase their chances to qualify for the semi-final of the T20 World Cup, India vs New Zealand is all set to be a blockbuster. 

India  Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Traveling reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel. 

New Zealand  Kane Williamson (captain), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne (injury cover).

India's Predicted Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.

New Zealand's Predicted Playing XI: Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (C), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Tim Seifert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult. 

India and New Zealand have played a total of 16 T20 internationals against each other. Both sides are on equal footing when it comes to the head-to-head record in the shortest format of the game. Both India and New Zealand have won eight games each out of the 16 T20Is. In the last five matches, however, India has an edge over the Kiwis as they beat them in all of those games. In ICC T20 World Cup, New Zealand is ahead of India with two wins in two matches. 

India vs New Zealand: Dream11 Team 1

Wicket-keeper: Rishabh Pant

Batters: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (c), Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson

All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Daryl Mitchell

Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy (vc)

India vs New Zealand: Dream11 Team 2

Wicket-keeper: Devon Conway

Batters: Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant

All-rounder: Ravindra Jadeja

Bowlers: Tim Southee, Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy