ICC Women's World Cup 2020 - India vs New Zealand, Preview And Prediction

Harmanpreet Kaur's Indian cricket team are on a high in the ongoing ICC Women's World T20 in Australia. They started the tournament with a 17-run win against defending champions Australia while they put in a solid performance to get the better of Bangladesh in Perth. India's next encounter in the ICC Women's World T20 will be against New Zealand. The equation is simple - A win for India will almost seal their spot in the playoffs but a loss will throw the whole group wide open. New Zealand, on the other hand, got their ICC Women's World T20 campaign off to a great start with a win against Sri Lanka.

The White Ferns, though, will be eyeing revenge against India as they were undone by a blitz in 2018 during their first game in Guyana. Battling stomach cramps and a back injury, Harmanpreet Kaur blazed away to a century in the ICC Women's World T20 and she shared a record partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, who hit a fifty. Both players are still in the side and the White Ferns would be determined to be the banana peel on which India slip and throw the whole group wide open. They defeated India 3-0 in the recent bilateral series in New Zealand and it was a small part of the revenge extracted for the 2018 ICC Women's World T20 loss but they will want to do the needful in 2020 at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.

Indian Cricket Team: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Taniya Bhatia(w), Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

New Zealand Cricket Team: Sophie Devine(c), Rachel Priest(w), Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, Katie Perkins, Katey Martin, Amelia Kerr, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Kerr T20

T20 World Cup Progress (India)

India have enjoyed a dominant run in the 2020 ICC Women's World T20 by registering a big win against defending champions Australia and an 18-run win against Bangladesh. The batting has been reliant on the likes of Shafali Verma and the youngster has delivered, giving aggressive starts against Australia and Bangladesh. However, the middle order needs to step up and Harmanpreet Kaur, who blasted a century in the previous game against New Zealand, will be hoping to come back to form. India have not qualified for the knock-out stages consistently, having reached in 2009, 2010 and 2018 while failing in the first round in the remaining games.

Harmanpreet Kaur smashed a century against New Zealand in the previous encounter of the ICC Women's World T20. (Image credit: Getty Images)

T20 World Cup Progress (New Zealand)

New Zealand started the tournament with a seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka thanks to a fantastic half-century by Sophie Devine. With matches coming up against Australia and also against India, they face an uphill task to enter the semis but a win against both Australia and India will help them seal a spot in the knockouts. The White Ferns, just like their male counterparts have stumbled at the knockout stages of the tournament in the ICC Women's World T20. They lost the final in the first two editions and in 2012 and 2016, they reached the semi-finals. New Zealand would also be aiming to take revenge for their 2018 loss to India.

India vs New Zealand, ICC Women's World T20: Live Streaming

One can watch India vs New Zealand ICC Women's World T20 live streaming on Hotstar in India.

TV Listing: Star Sports Network, Doordarshan

Live Streaming: Hotstar, Jio TV

Also Read | ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, IND vs BAN LIVE: India Beat Bangladesh By 18 Runs

Prediction: India are on top in the ICC Women's World T20 with wins over Australia and Bangladesh. A win against New Zealand will seal their spot in the semis but they will be vary of the fight the White Ferns can give. New Zealand, on the other hand, are not to be underestimated and it will be an even match. However, India hold all the aces, having had prior experience of playing at the Junction Oval in Melbourne during the earlier tri-series encounters featuring England and Australia.

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