New Zealand vs India, 4th T20I Preview: Series Winners India Look To Experiment As They Face Depleted New Zealand

After securing their first T20I series win ever in New Zealand, India captain Virat Kohli had hinted that Washington Sundar or Navdeep Saini might be included in the playing XI for the subsequent matches.

India, after a thrilling Super Over win over New Zealand in the third Twenty20 International, will look for another match-winning performance as the two teams lock horns in Wellington for the fourth T20I on Friday. After taking a 3-0 unassailable lead in the five-match series, India captain Virat Kohli hinted that there might be changes in the playing XI during the remaining two matches in the series. Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini could feature in the XI as hinted by Virat Kohli during the post-match presentation on Wednesday.

“We will try to win 5-0. There are a couple of guys who are sitting out like Sundar and Saini, they deserve to get a game. The idea is to win the remaining two games,” Kohli had said after the win in Hamilton.

Navdeep Saini might replace Shardul Thakur while Washington Sundar can be used in place of Yuzvendra Chahal in the next game in Wellington.

In the batting department, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are waiting for opportunities.

While the top trio is assured of places, Shreyas Iyer has been in superb touch and can claim to pin down a spot on his own as well.

Both Manish Pandey and Shivam Dube need more game time as well. Any of the top four can be rested over the next two games.

For New Zealand, there is a straightforward change coming up. Colin de Grandhomme is no longer with the squad, giving up his spot for batsman Tom Bruce.

This could be an easy swap for the hosts given that they have been light in the middle order during the past three matches.

There is also a school of thought that Kane Williamson should move up top. Given his batting master class in the Hamilton T20I, there is potential for him to open the innings with Martin Guptill with Colin Munro sliding down.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (wk), Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Tom Bruce, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Hamish Bennett, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner.