In what came as a disappointing development, the first T20I between India and New Zealand on November 18 (Friday) was called-off without a single ball bowled as the rain Gods showed no mercy at the Sky Stadium in Wellington. The relentless rain had earlier forced a delay in the toss and as the downpour continued, the game was abandoned without even the coin flip taking place. The toss was delayed due to continuous downpour as sparse crowd waited patiently at the Sky Stadium.
India are touring New Zealand for a three-match T20I and ODI series. Both teams are coming into the match following their exit from the semifinal stage of the T20 World Cup in Australia. While India lost to eventual champions England, New Zealand were defeated by Pakistan.
The second T20I is scheduled to be played at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on November 20 (Sunday). One can only hope that the rain stays away and cricket takes centerstage once again.
New Zealand's squad: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner.
India's squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.
