Time: February 9, 5:30 AM IST
Venue: John Davies Oval, Queenstown
Pitch Report
This is the first-ever T20I to be played at Queenstown, and the first international match since 2014.
However, we have fetched the data from the recently concluded New Zealand T20 League: although the pitch favoured the batters in both T20s, a total of 23 wickets fell. Expect an even battle between the bat and ball.
Teams
Probable XI for New Zealand Women: Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine (c), Amy Satterthwaite, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Katey Martin (wk), Hayley Jensen, Amelia Kerr, Lea Tahuhu, Hannah Rowe, Jess Kerr
Probable XI for India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Pooja Vastrakar, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singha, Rajeshwari Gayakwad/Poona, Yadav, Meghna Singh/Simran Bahadur
Fantasy Tips
We have opted for a fantasy cricket team based on the recent performances, overall impact, and credit points.
Power Players
Harmanpreet Kaur was at her devastating best in the WBBL. She was named the Player of the Tournament for her 406 runs and 15 wickets in 13 games.
Sophie Devine likes to feed on the Indian bowlers. She has smashed a whopping 295 runs at an impressive average of 33 and strike rate of 148, including 3 fifties. The same is the case with Suzie Bates (245 runs in 11 T20Is) and Amy Satterthwaite (215 runs in 11 T20Is). These three, for that matter, are the top three batters in the lineup. To add fuel to the fire, the trio has taken 43 wickets in the format between them.
Smriti Mandhana has collected 197 runs with an impressive strike rate of 135 against New Zealand, including two fifties. In WBBL, she hit 377 runs including a hundred and two fifties.
Smart Picks
Deepti Sharma put up a stellar show in the WBBL, scoring 211 runs and taking 13 wickets in 13 games.
Poonam Yadav has excellent numbers against New Zealand: she has scalped up 10 wickets in 7 games. On the other hand, Devine has taken 12 wickets in 10 games against India.
In her short 8-T20I career, Amelia Kerr has taken 11 wickets under an economy of 6 RPO.
Shafali Verma, the No. 1 T20I batter in ICC Rankings, has scored 687 runs in 28 matches. In the WBBL, however, she could not amass runs consistently, managing 191 runs in 13 games.
Match Prediction
India have lost 8 of 12 T20Is against New Zealand. To make matters worse, India have never won a bilateral series in the format against them. Although these numbers do not favour India, their players have been in ominous form of late, and with it being the only T20I, they will look to go all guns blazing.
Fantasy Tip of the Day
There is no right way to play fantasy cricket, so free to pick combination of players as long as they meet your minimum requirements.
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