India vs New Zealand 1st T20I 2026: The five-match series will begin in Nagpur on January 21. (CREIMAS)
Having suffered a jolt with a 2-1 defeat in the ODI series, India will hope to redeem themselves as they enter the final leg of their preparations for the T20 World Cup title defence when they take on New Zealand in a five-match series, starting Wednesday.
India vs New Zealand 1st T20 Live Streaming Score: Watch Here
While the teams will not be playing at any of the World Cup venues, both teams will have the best of conditions to prepare and make their final assessments of combinations, tactics and form. There will be keen on focus on India’s top-order, given their last-minute shake-up before the World Cup squad announcement last month and the absence of Tilak Varma who is out injured from the first three games after an abdominal surgery.
IND vs NZ 1st T20 LIVE Cricket Score, Full Scorecard: Watch Here
India predicted XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
New Zealand predicted XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (WK), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (C), Rachin Ravindra, James Neesham, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi.
India vs New Zealand 1st T20 Playing 11: Kuldeep Yadav set to miss out, Ishan Kishan to play as No.3
The India vs New Zealand 1st T20I will be streamed live on the JioHotstar app and website and telecast on the Star Sports network from 7.00 PM IST on Wednesday.
IND vs NZ T20I Series Schedule
| India vs New Zealand T20Is full fixtures and venues | |||
| Match | Date (Day) | Match start time | Venue |
| 1st T20I | January 21 (Wednesday) | 7 PM IST | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur |
| 2nd T20I | January 23 (Friday) | 7 PM IST | Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur |
| 3rd T20I | January 25 (Sunday) | 7 PM IST | ACA Stadium, Guwahati |
| 4th T20I | January 28 (Wednesday) | 7 PM IST | Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam |
| 5th T20I | January 31 (Saturday) | 7 PM IST | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram |
Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer (first three T20Is), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravi Bishnoi.
Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ish Sodhi, Kristian Clarke.
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