Wellington : The Indian team gears up for the third T20I against New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday, aiming to seal the five-match series after taking a 2-0 lead.
Indian batters Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir were seen fine-tuning their skills in the nets, while mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy put in the hard yards with the ball ahead of the third T20I.
Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was also spotted batting in the nets alongside India head coach Gautam Gambhir as the team continued its preparations for the third T20I.
India have made a strong start to their five-match T20I series against New Zealand, winning the opening match by four wickets at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on October 22.
Batting first, New Zealand posted 225/4 in 20 overs, putting India under pressure in a challenging run chase. However, Sanju Samson led the response with a fluent 67 off 33 balls, while Naman Dhir remained unbeaten on 42 off just 15 deliveries to help India chase down the target, reaching 230/6 in 19.4 overs. Dhir’s late assault proved decisive as India secured a thrilling victory with two balls to spare.
India continued their winning run in the second T20I on October 24, once again defeating New Zealand by four wickets at the same venue to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
New Zealand scored 180/5 in their 20 overs, setting India a competitive target of 181. The visitors held their nerve during the chase, reaching 181/6 in 19.5 overs to seal another last-over victory, with Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy playing key roles in guiding India home. The back-to-back wins put India in a strong position ahead of the third T20I in Wellington on October 27.