IND vs NZ T20I Series – 3 Things we learnt from India’s 3-0 clean sweep 

India wrapped up a comprehensive 3-0 T20I series win against New Zealand, with a massive 73 run victory. They now hold T20I series whitewashes against New Zealand both away and at home.

The new era of T20I Cricket under Rohit – Dravid has begun remarkably well for India. The preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia is well and truly underway. A lot of the major stars were rested for this series – Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Hardik Pandya. This gave opportunities to others to shine and throw their hats in for selection in the next world cup.

In what was a successful outing for the Indian team, here are three things we learnt from the series win

Venkatesh Iyer – Being groomed as backup for Hardik Pandya

Venkatesh Iyer played in all the matches, albeit in a position that we have not seen him before. Although he opened for KKR with great success, he had been coming in the middle-order / Finisher’s spot in this series. With Hardik Pandya sitting out, and tons of questions being raised about his fitness, India tried out Venkatesh Iyer in that spot. Though we didn’t get to see a lot of him, he did show promise in the few balls he faced.

He didn’t bowl in the first two T20s but was given an opportunity in the third match – even picking up a wicket. We are going to see a lot more of Iyer in the months leading up to the next World Cup for sure.

The Shreyas Iyer conundrum

It’s a comeback into the team, after a long layoff with Injury, for Shreyas Iyer. He came into bat at No.5 in the first and third T20Is, after Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant, and didn’t get to bat in the second T20I. Once Virat Kohli comes into the team, he might play at No.3 or 4, with SKY and Pant, almost certain to hold the 2 other middle-order spots.

No.6 is suited to the likes of Pandya / Jadeja – A lot more enterprising batsmen as compared to Iyer. Is Shreya’s Iyer’s role in the Indian T20 team a bit redundant? An extremely talented batsman, who may be best suited to play in the Top 4 – But India, now, seem to have a lot more prolific batsmen playing similar roles.

We hope to see a lot more from Shreyas Iyer in the future, but his spot in the team looks a bit shaky for now.

Harshal Patel’s brilliance – From RCB to Indian colours

Harshal Patel made his debut in the second T20I, and he looked right at home. Carrying forward his belligerent form for RCB to the international arena, he was on point with his clever pace changes and extremely brave with his frequent changes in length.

He bowled 4 economical overs, picking up 2-25, and the player-of-the-match award on his debut. He followed it up with a 2-26 in 3 overs in the final T20I. He looks set to be one of the forerunners for a spot in the next year’s World Cup. The death-bowling tandem of Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah could be super interesting to watch.