🏏New Zealand vs India 4th T20I in Visakhapatnam @ 7 PM IST🏏 - Page 3

New Zealand's Reshuffle

The Black Caps are fighting for pride and have made tactical changes to halt their slide. Veterans James Neesham and Lockie Ferguson have rejoined the squad, replacing younger players like Tim Robinson and Kristian Clarke. The visitors are also experimenting with their top order, potentially promoting Daryl Mitchell to stabilize the innings after repeated powerplay collapses against India’s pace-and-spin duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav.

16:49 (IST) 28 Jan 2026

The Toss and Match Setup

India entered the Vizag clash as overwhelming favourites, boosted by a series of ruthless performances where they chased down targets with nearly half the overs to spare. The toss in Visakhapatnam is traditionally crucial due to the heavy dew factor at this coastal venue; as expected, teams are leaning toward bowling first to exploit the easier batting conditions under lights. The surface at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium remains a “batter’s paradise,” promising yet another high-scoring encounter.

16:48 (IST) 28 Jan 2026

Thanks for the tag Soni.

Hope team India will keep the momentum going for the world cup.

Cheers..

18:00 Local Time, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST: India head into the fourth T20I with the series already decided, holding an unassailable 3-0 lead over New Zealand. With two matches still to play, the hosts now have the chance to extend their advantage and push towards a clean sweep. The series has been defined by India’s control across departments. They have been ahead of New Zealand at most stages - making early inroads with the ball, managing the middle overs efficiently and keeping chases comfortably in hand. The batting has provided steady platforms, while the bowlers have applied sustained pressure through the innings, repeatedly leaving New Zealand chasing the game.

The fourth T20I also brings into focus differing fortunes within India’s batting unit. Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have scored freely, setting the tempo with clear intent at the top and through the middle order. Sanju Samson, however, has found this series more demanding. Despite opportunities, he has struggled to find rhythm, with starts not developing into significant contributions. With two games remaining, this match offers Samson a timely opportunity to find form and reinforce his position. For New Zealand, the fourth T20I is about restoring confidence and momentum. With the series lost, their immediate aim will be to sharpen execution under pressure and take something constructive into the final game. India, meanwhile, will look to maintain standards, possibly rotate personnel and continue building depth as they keep one eye on the challenges ahead.

"Will they decide to play Shreyas instead of Sanju as he is currently not performing and after tilak joins back he would probably lose his place so if you ask me i think its time shreyas iyer comes in for India for the upcoming T20 world cup." Interesting conundrum in front of team India this. Iyer last played a T20I in 2023. I think India are pretty confident of Tilak Varma returning fit in time for the T20 World Cup. Which also helps Samson keep his spot. If not, India would have wanted to have a loot at Iyer at least once before the main event, in case they need to draft him into the squad.

One of the talking points for India heading into this series was the form of their captain Suryakumar Yadav. He averaged a shade over 13 in T20Is in 2025. But in this series, he has found his touch and has scorded back-to-back fifties that has made him rise in the ICC men's T20I rankings for batters.

Tails calls Santner. Heads it is. India bowl

Wanted to see Abhishek's fireworks. Alas, not to be. Have to check the highlights tomorrow.

Cheers..

Suryakumar Yadav: We'll bowl first.

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Right then, the captains are out in the middle and it's toss time..

"Bumrah has marked his run-up, as have Zakary Foulkes and Jacob Duffy." - Pratyush from Vizag..

"Hello from Vizag. It's nice and cool here today and I spot Shreyas Iyer visualizing at one of the ends. He had a long, long practice session in one of the two centre nets yesterday." - Pratyush Sinha

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert(w), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah