Deivarayan Muthu
Published: Oct 29, 2026, 11:21 AM (10 mins ago)
Big Picture: Box-office crowd, box-office batting on the cards
Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi showed that there is no ceiling for this India batting line-up, mowing down 199 in a mere 13.2 overs in Wellington. Their powerplay blitz alone made New Zealand's 198 for 3 look piddly.
Don't rule out India batters breaking more records - and more New Zealand bowlers - on an easy-paced pitch surrounded by piddly boundaries at Eden Park. The straight boundaries are so small that Auckland's very own Lockie Ferguson once said: "the crowd feels like they are right on your back".
Now imagine around 40,000 fans, including a big Indian crowd, on your back, with Abhishek, Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer right in front of you. Friday's T20I is set to shatter NZC's bilateral series match attendance record of 36,523, set at the Black Caps and White Ferns' double-header against India at Eden Park in 2019.
New Zealand's bowling unit has its task cut out. They will have to contend with an injury to their senior quick Lockie Ferguson, who has been sidelined from the rest of the series. And their batters, baring Finn Allen, don't quite have the ultra-explosive power that runs deep through India's line-up.
For India, this is an opportunity to rest some of their key personnel ahead of the ODI and Test series that follows the T20Is. Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Dube are all yet to play in this series. India's batting could still have a formidable outlook, despite potential changes.
The dimensions at Eden Park are opposite to the ones at Hnry Stadium: the straight boundaries are smaller while the square boundaries are bigger. So, the bowlers will have to make quick tactical adjustments. The playing area itself is in the shape of a rectangle, which makes field placement challenging as well at this venue.
Form guide
New Zealand: LLLWL (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
India: WWWLW
India: WWWLW
In the spotlight: Bevon Jacobs and Naman Dhir
Auckland's Bevon Jacobs has played cricket around the world, including in Pakistan and the Caribbean, but Friday could mark his first international innings at his home ground. The Auckland homecoming also marks a "full-circle" moment for Jacobs: during the 2015 World Cup, he was at the Eden Park stands watching the Black Caps have the time of their lives. With the IPL auction on the horizon, this is another opportunity for Jacobs to attract the attention of the scouts.
Naman Dhir has made a fairly seamless transition from the IPL and domestic cricket to international white-ball cricket. While he has made handy breakthroughs with the ball, it's his big-hitting that has given India's middle order extra muscle in the absence of Hardik Pandya. And like Hardik, Dhir hardly mis-hits the ball when he goes on the attack.
Team news: Changes for both teams?
With the series already in the bag, there is reason for India to tinker with their combination and give Kuldeep or Varun a game though that would leave their lower-order batting thin. Dube might also get a game if the team management opts to rest Nitish Kumar Reddy, ahead of the ODI and Test series.
Perhaps, there's also a case for India to have another look at tearaway Mayank Yadav, who had played in the series opener in Christchurch before making way for Prince Yadav. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Ishan Kishan has recovered from the groin strain that had kept him out for the second and third T20Is.
India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy/Shivam Dube, 8 Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakravarthy, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Prince Yadav, 11 Arshdeep Singh/Mayank Yadav
Ferguson has joined Matt Henry and Zak Foulkes on the injury list and has dropped out of the squad for the rest of the T20I series. Matt Fisher, another fast bowler who can hit speeds north of 140kph, has replaced Ferguson in the squad. Blair Tickner might get a game in a rejigged seam attack.
New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Tim Seifert (wk), 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Bevon Jacobs, 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Adam Milne, 9 Jacob Duffy, 10 Matt Fisher, 11 Blair Tickner/Nathan Smith
Pitch and conditions: Tiny straight boundaries
The straight boundaries are so small at Eden Park that they don't meet the ICC requirements (minimum 59.43 metres from the centre of the pitch). But as an existing venue prior to those requirements being brought in, it is exempt. So, expect another slugfest at this venue. The weather is expected to be fine for the duration of the game.
Stats and trivia
- Arshdeep Singh is one away from 150 T20I wickets. He will become the first India player to the landmark.
- Mitchell Santner is also one away from 150 T20I wickets. He will become the third New Zealand player to reach the milestone after Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee.
- India plundered 118 runs in the first six overs of the chase in the previous T20I in Wellington, the highest powerplay score in men's T20Is.
- India have had a run rate of 10.45 across 38 innings in T20Is this year, the highest among all Full Members. In comparison, New Zealand have gone at 9.37 an over across 23 innings in the format.
Quotes
"For both parties, it's probably more exciting for batters than bowlers. So, as a batting unit, we're looking forward to getting out here and we always enjoy playing here and it's going to be a sold-out crowd."
Finn Allen on the batting-friendly conditions at Eden Park
Finn Allen on the batting-friendly conditions at Eden Park
"It's quite good to watch. There are so many Indians - in the last game more than 90% at the stadium may have been Indians and we're enjoying the support for us."
Tilak Varma on the reception for India in New Zealand
Tilak Varma on the reception for India in New Zealand
Deivarayan Muthu is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo