India will take on New Zealand in the first T20I match on Friday (January 27) at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. The three-match T20 series follows the ODI series between the two countries where India clinched a clean 3-0 victory.

New Zealand will look to take back some wins in the T20I series, while India will try to maintain their current solid form. The Indian side is going to be led by Hardik Pandya, with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill expected to be opening the batting. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvebdra Chahal are expected to bowl.

Where to watch LIVE

The match will begin at 7 pm IST. Viewers can catch the game live on the Disney+Hotstar. The IND vs NZ T20I series is going to be live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app. The matches can be viewed live on DD sports and Star Network sports channels (Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports HD). Other viewing options include Jio TV, and Airtel Digital TV. Both Jio TV and Airtel Digital TV app can be downloaded on smartphones and viewers can tune into the Star Sports network to catch the matches live from their phones.

All major telecom operators, Reliance Jio, Vi, Airtel, offer free access to Disney Hotstar OTT app to customers with certain subscription plans. Customers of these plans can watch the match live on their phone through the app.

Santner looks to apply his learnings at CSK as New Zealand captain

The second match of the series will be played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow while the final match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Ranchi, Jan 26: Mitchell Santner says that time spent under Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Stephen Fleming at Chennai Super Kings will come in handy as he leads New Zealand in the T20I series in India.

Santner had also led the side in the third and final T20I in India back in 2021. He is captaining the side in the absence of regular skipper Kane Williamson.

"If you look at both of them (Dhoni and Fleming), they're both very calm and very level-headed, which I like as I feel I'm similar in that respect. To work under and alongside MS (Dhoni) has been a pretty cool experience for a few years now.

"I guess it's nice to be back at his home ground as well. And Flem (Fleming) -- he's the same, very level-headed and keeps it pretty relaxed and that's what we try to do in this set-up as well," said the left-hander ahead of the series opener.

Gaikwad out of New Zealand T20Is with wrist injury

Opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the T20I series against New Zealand due to a wrist injury. The 24-year-old has been sent to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehabilitation. "He is out of the series with wrist injury," a BCCI source told PTI. Gaikwad has played one ODI and nine T20s. He last played for India in October last year when he made his ODI debut against South Africa. With Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill set to open in the first T20I on Friday, Gaikwad would have found it tough to make the playing eleven.

ODIs take a precedence over T20Is in a World Cup year but Santer said playing every game for the country is an honour.

"I guess the way ODI cricket is going at the moment with high scores, you know it's not too different to T20. So, banking the experiences in T20 cricket this year will be similar to what we got in the one-day series, where we saw some high scores and good hitting.

"I guess trying to bank those experiences from that series…yes, we obviously lost 3-0, but we showed glimpses in games that we want to take forward in this series," said the all-rounder.

Would he continue to be calm under pressure now that he is leading the side? "Yeah, I guess that's my nature, and it has been like that for a little while now. But obviously there's also bit more nerves (now) and very exciting to captain another series in India -- it doesn't get much better than that. So, definitely looking forward to it and it's going to be a challenge, no doubt," he added.

(With inputs from PTI)

(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)

First Published:Jan 27, 2023 12:12 PM IST