India vs New Zealand Prediction, Betting Tips and Odds

Pundit Feed

01 February 2023

India vs New Zealand Prediction, Betting Tips and Odds

After a gritty second T20 win by India, New Zealand and India will head to Ahmedabad with the series on the line in this third T20. Can the visitors nab an unlikely series win, or will India again defend their fine record? Read on for our India vs New Zealand third T20 betting preview.

These odds from William Hill were correct at the time of writing.

India vs New Zealand third T20
1 of February, 1:30 PM GMT
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Pitch Report and Weather Conditions

Sunday’s second T20 between these two saw a shocker of a pitch that is still being criticised by cricket experts days later.

Chances are, the same won’t happen in Ahmedabad. Typically, the Narendra Modi Stadium produces batting-friendly pitches, with the past five matches seeing three matches have both innings above 160 (and one 224/2). The weather forecast for match day is fair.

India vs New Zealand – Match Predictions

Tuesday presents a rare opportunity for New Zealand. Never have the Kiwis travelled to India and come away with a bilateral series win, with the exception of a one-off T20 in 2012. In fact, only twice in the past decade has any country managed to achieve the feat, with South Africa doing it in 2015 and Australia in 2019.

If New Zealand were to win this third T20, they would go down in history as one of the few teams to win a series in India. Given some of the Black Caps current struggles, that would be some feat. We’re picking that the Kiwis will fall just short thanks to India’s firepower on a batting-friendly pitch, but strap in because this should be a fantastic conclusion to New Zealand’s tour of India.

India Top Run Scorer

With a belter of a pitch predicted, chances are this will be the highest scoring of the three T20s between these two sides. We’d back India’s Suryakumar Yadav here to be his side’s top run scorer again.

Last match, Yadav showed his brilliant batting IQ by adapting his approach and top scoring on 26 not out chasing 99. However, with three hundreds and a further nine half centuries in the past six months of T20 cricket, don’t expect Yadav to take such a conservative approach on this pitch. With odds of 3/1 (4.00), we say Yadav will unleash in this match and once again be his side’s biggest contribution.

Prediction: Suryakumar Yadav to be India’s top run scorer.

New Zealand Top Run Scorer

We’ve been saying for a while now that it’s time for Glenn Phillips to perform. Last Sunday’s pitch didn’t allow the big hitting right hander to score big, but we expect he’ll do that in Tuesday’s match.

Just over two weeks ago, Phillips top scored for the Black Caps in their ODI series win over Pakistan, striking a magnificent 63 not out in the deciding game. It’s this kind of pressure that Phillips thrives on, and with a century and six half centuries in the last six months of T20 cricket, it’s clear that the 26-year-old has the ability to go big. Expect him to come right on Tuesday, particularly if New Zealand are chasing and lose early wickets.

Prediction: Glenn Phillips to be New Zealand’s top run scorer.

New Zealand Top Wicket Taker

Mitchell Santner has come into his own as New Zealand’s captain in this T20 series, and has been bowling some economical overs. However, we say that the main benefactor of this will be Lockie Ferguson, who is less likely to be economical, but should take a few wickets on Tuesday. With his pace, and the absence of Boult and Southee, Ferguson will be spearheading New Zealand’s pace attack, and should receive some frustrated batters after Santner’s spells.

Prediction: Lockie Ferguson to be New Zealand’s top wicket taker.

India vs New Zealand Preview

With these bets in mind, here’s a closer look at how each team is shaping up ahead of Tuesday’s match:

India

India have chased twice in this T20 series, and it will be interesting to see what they do if put in to bat first on Tuesday. They were riding a hot streak of 350+ scores in ODIs, but a combination of chasing and bat pitches have suffocated that momentum. Can they go first here, and go big?

Probable playing 11: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Umran Malik and 11 Arshdeep Singh.

New Zealand

The Black Caps will be focused on getting a rare series win here, one that would be made all the more glorious by the absence of many key players. The likes of Santner, Ferguson and Conway will be proud of how they’ve stepped up, but would like to see a little more from Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips in this match, particularly if it’s a high scoring affair.

Probable playing 11: 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Jacob Duffy and 11 Blair Tickner.