IND vs NZ 1st T20I Weather Report: Rain to washout series opener in Wellington? Check here

Team India will take on New Zealand in the first of the three T20Is at Wellington on Friday (November 18) Both teams are losing semi-finalists from the T20 World Cup 2022 that was recently held in Australia. Both the sides will be looking to rebuild and replan their strategies after failing to go one step further to win the World Cup trophy. India have some big stars missing as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been given breaks while Mohammed Shami has been rested too. In their places, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson will be tried. 

Also Read: IND VS NZ, 1st T20 Cricket Match Live Score

Shreyas Iyer too comes to the squad. All eyes will be on Bhuvneshwar Kumar as he had an ordinary World Cup and needs to step uo big time to guarantee his place in the side. Umran Malik's pace will be something to watch out for as well. India dearly missed a pacer who could build up high speed in the World Cup and the J&K-born pacer could just be the right answer for Team India, in tha regard.  

Preps _

Time to hit the ground running _ _#TeamIndia | #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/2Z6te21HpK

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 18, 2022

New Zealand too have made changes to their squad, even if ever so slightly. Kane Williamson, however, is back as captain. He will be interesting to watch as critics have argued against his selection. Kane's low strike rate has been one of the many reasons why he is not seen anymore as a T20 player. 

The first T20I match will be exciting to watch but with rain-interruptions. As per Accuweather, there is 81% chance of rain at the time of start (7:30 PM), which will reduce to 70% in the next two hours. Not to forget, since it will continue to rain the whole evening. The chances of a full 40-over game is less in that regard. That is why the first T20Is could be a rain-curtailed match. There is also a huge possibility of a delayed start.