Sports Desk. The third match of the five-match T20 series between India and New Zealand will be played on Tuesday, October 27 at Henry Stadium in Wellington. By winning both the initial matches, the Indian team has taken a 2-0 lead in the series. Now Team India, captained by Shreyas Iyer, will be eyeing to win the third match and win the series. At the same time, for New Zealand it is like fight or die. With another defeat the hosts will lose the series.
The good thing for the Indian team is that despite the absence of big players like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, the team is performing brilliantly. On the other hand, New Zealand will have to take the field without its two leading fast bowlers.
India’s dominance against New Zealand
Team India has won nine out of the last 10 T20 matches against New Zealand. However, the performance of the Indian team this year has been full of ups and downs. India started the year by defending the T20 World Cup title. The team became the first team to win the T20 World Cup twice consecutively. Including both the World Cups, India lost only one match. After this Ireland defeated India 2-0.
Team India had to lose the series even on the England tour. At the same time, the four-match T20 series against West Indies on home ground was tied at 2-2. Now India has made a great comeback by winning both the initial matches in New Zealand.
Two big shocks to New Zealand
New Zealand’s problems have increased before the third T20. Fast bowlers Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson will not play in this match. Henry had bowled only two overs in the last match, which included one maiden over. He has been dropped from the T20 series keeping in mind the upcoming ODI and Test matches.
At the same time, Ferguson will be out of action only for the third match. New Zealand has options like Adam Milne and Blair Tickner. Kyle Jamieson will also be available for this match.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi gets another chance at number 3
Indian team’s wicketkeeper batsman Ishan Kishan has not fully recovered from the injury. In such a situation, 15 year old Vaibhav Suryavanshi may get a chance to bat at number three for the second consecutive match.
India had sent Suryavanshi at number-3 in the last match. However, he was out after scoring just four runs. The team management currently does not seem to be in favor of making much changes in the batting order. Naman Dheer and Nitish Kumar Reddy can also be retained in the playing eleven. Nitish has bowled usefully in the 19th over in the previous matches. At the same time, the team management is giving more importance to Naman Dheer’s batting than the additional bowling option of Shivam Dubey.
New Zealand’s spinners increased India’s problems
India has definitely won both the initial matches, but the Indian batsmen have faced problems in front of the New Zealand spinners. Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell have bowled 16 overs together in two matches. During this period, both of them have taken eight wickets for just 132 runs.
Especially Tilak Verma’s performance against spin has been a matter of concern. He has scored runs at a strike rate of 76 against spin bowlers, while his strike rate against fast bowlers has been 220. Sanju Samson and Naman Dheer have batted aggressively against the spinners. In the third match, Indian batsmen will have to adopt a better strategy against spin.
Big record on target of Arshdeep Singh
Indian fast bowler Arshdeep Singh can make a big record in his name in the third T20. He has taken 38 wickets so far in the year 2026. The record for taking the most T20 International wickets in a calendar year among bowlers from Full Member countries is held by Ireland’s Josh Little, who took 39 wickets.
Arshdeep can equal this record by taking one wicket and break it by taking two wickets. At the same time, Tilak Verma also has a special achievement in his name. He has remained unbeaten 26 times while chasing in T20 cricket and every time his team has won.
How will the Wellington pitch be?
Strong winds in Wellington can become a challenge for the players. The square boundary of the field is about 60 meters, which can help the batsmen to play big shots. Here, 164 runs were successfully defended in the last T20 match.
However, the target of 216 runs has also been achieved on this ground. There is a possibility of strong winds and rain before the match. However, there is no rain during the match and the wind speed is expected to be low.
Probable playing eleven of both the teams
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Verma, Naman Dheer, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Bevan Jacobs/Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy.