India will be looking to clinch the three-match T20I series against New Zealand when the two sides meet for the second game at Rajkot on Saturday.
With a 1-0 lead in the series courtesy of their win in Kanpur, Virat Kohli’s men will know that coming out on top of the Black Caps will not be an easy task after a hard-fought ODI series which went right down to the wire.
With another evenly contested match in prospect, we look at the key talking points.
While his maiden appearance for India had been a memorable one with the hosts cantering to a win, individually Iyer would have been left a little disappointed after not getting the chance to bat.
With openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma making merry, Iyer’s services with the bat were not called upon but come Saturday, they very well could be.
Having impressed in domestic cricket with consistent performances over the past two years or so, there are a lot of expectations from the 22-year-old youngster.
The Mumbai-man has already notched up 11 tons in first-class cricket and was in great form in the preceding limited-overs series between New Zealand A and India A.
Iyer has impressed in the IPL and domestic cricket in recent times.
Another youngster who impressed with India A during their recent series with their New Zealand counterparts along with the tri-series involving Afghanistan A and South Africa A, Siraj could be in line to make his India debut on Saturday.
With veteran Ashish Nehra having hung up his boots following the first T20I at New Delhi, Siraj could be an option to take up the role of the third seamer though it is also likely that Kohli could instead choose to reinforce the batting line-up with an extra batsman.
The 23-year-old medium pacer from Hyderabad has had a great run in first-class cricket of late having picked up 57 wickets in 15 matches so far.
Following Ashish Nehra’s retirement, Siraj could be set to make his debut.
With his brilliance in the one-day format, it is easy to forget that Kohli has also been excellent in T20Is for India.
With 1878 T20I runs to his name, the Indian skipper is third on the list of the highest run-scorers in the format with Brendon McCullum leading the way with 2,140.
Kohli could overtake former Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan who sits in second position. The right-handed batsman looked extremely good during his unbeaten 11-ball 26-run cameo in India’s win in New Delhi.
New Zealand’s Martin Guptill is also in the fray in the fifth position with 1, 810 runs to his name and he could create a few ripples of his own should he get off to a flying start.
Kohli could become the second highest run-scorer in the format.
After their loss in the T20I opener at New Delhi, Kane Williamson’s men have been dislodged from the top spot in the ICC team rankings with Pakistan claiming the honour instead.
Sarfraz Ahmed’s men were convincing 3-0 victors over Sri Lanka in the recently concluded series and maintain a three-point lead over New Zealand.
Should the visitors manage to win the remaining two T20Is, they would once again leapfrog Pakistan in the rankings.
India meanwhile will themselves be looking to make a big jump in the rankings table with the side currently ranked fifth in the world.
Kohli’s men could overtake England and West Indies should they manage to complete a 3-0 sweep of the series.
New Zealand will look to reclaim the No.1 ranking in the ICC team rankings.
