Time for Ishan, Hooda to fire as captain Pandya faces must-win situation

India will have to raise their game a few notches as the Hardik Pandyaled side faces a mustwin situation to level the threematch T20I series against New Zealand here on SundayIndia were caught in a spin web on the Ranchi pitch and lost the opener by 21 runs on FridayThe loss also highlighted Indias bowling profligacy especially by the pace duo of Arshdeep Singh and Umran MalikIf tearaway pacer Malik conceded 16 runs in one over Arshdeep leaked 27 runs in the last over which put pressure on the India batters while chasingThat expensive over from the young leftarm quick was the turning point as he was smashed for three sixes and a boundaryIndias batters were off to an inauspicious start with the topthree managing just 15 runs The hosts ended up scoring 1559 which would have been a par score to defend on the wicket as indicated by Washington Sundar after the match150 wouldve been par and we wouldve been very happy with it the India allrounder saidAlso readFeels good when team captain backs you Shubman Gill after win against Sri Lanka in 1st ODISkipper Pandya however is unlikely to bring in uncapped pace bowler Mukesh Kumar for the second T20I and will probably back Arshdeep to bounce backKishan Hooda under scrutinyWhile Shubman Gill who has been in redhot form in the ODIs has played just four T20Is and is still learning the nuances of the shortest format the big concern will be the two key batters Ishan Kishan and Deepak HoodaOccupying the opening spot Kishan is nowhere near the ominous form he showed while slamming a recordbreaking ODI doublecentury against Bangladesh last DecemberSince then Ishans scores in the last seven innings in both ODIs and T20Is read 37 2 1 5 8 no 17 and 4If one just considers the T20Is its been a while since he last scored a fifty against South Africa on June 14 2022Hooda too hasnt enjoyed much success as a lower middleorder batter and averages just 1788 in the last 13 innings with the highest being the unbeaten 41 against Sri Lanka at the WankhedeHis innings of 10 runs from 10 balls at No 7 on Friday lacked impact and the rotation of strike also came under scrutiny especially when the New Zealand spinners were bowlingWhile India are unlikely to try out newcomer Jitesh Sharma in the role of wicketkeeperbatter in the middleorder on Sunday time is certainly running out for Hooda and KishanDespite the loss on Friday there was a huge positive for India in Washington Sundar who not only bowled a tidy four overs of spin to take two wickets but also emerged Indias topscorer with a 28ball 50 batting at No 6With No1ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav in terrific form India would need someone at the top of the order to raise their game and do some big hitting given that the Ekana Stadium here has big boundariesThe Kiwis on the other hand would look for another victory to secure a memorable series win in India They will once again rely heavily on their inform duo of Devon Conway and Daryl MitchellTeams fromIndia Hardik Pandya c Suryakumar Yadav vc Ishan Kishan wk Shubman Gill Prithvi Shaw Deepak Hooda Rahul Tripathi Jitesh Sharma wk Washington Sundar Kuldeep Yadav Yuzvendra Chahal Arshdeep Singh Umran Malik Shivam Mavi and Mukesh KumarNew Zealand Mitchell Santner c Finn Allen Devon Conway wk Glenn Phillips Dane Cleaver wk Mark Chapman Michael Bracewell Daryl Mitchell Michael Rippon Lockie Ferguson Ish Sodhi Blair Tickner Jacob Duffy Henry Shipley and Ben ListerMatch starts 7pmThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever