India will face New Zealand in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.  Both the teams have lost their opening matches in the tournament to Pakistan. Following their 10-wicket loss to Pakistan on October 24, India will also be wary of New Zealand’s record against them in T20 World Cup.

The Black Caps have won their only two games against India in T20 World Cups in the 2007 and 2016 editions of the tournament. However, India will fancy their chances as they have won all their last five T20Is against New Zealand, including two Super Over victories. The two sides are tied head-to-head in their 16 T20I encounters.

T20 World Cup: Why is India vs New Zealand clash a do or die for both teams?

Here’s a look at some of the key battles from India vs New Zealand game:

Rohit Sharma vs Trent Boult, Tim Southee 

Rohit Sharma was off to a disastrous start in the T20 World Cup as Pakistan left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi bamboozled him with an in-swinger for a duck. And on Sunday, the Indian opener will once again be up against another left-arm pacer, New Zealand’s Trent Boult. Rohit would also like to leave past his record against the variety in T20 World Cups, having been dismissed six times by left-arm quickies in the tournaments. He would also like to improve on his average of 21.1 at almost a run-a-ball strike rate against left-arm pacers since 2019.

T20 World Cup: Kohli says important to have 6th bowling option for NZ clash

Boult dismissed Rohit twice in the three T20Is they faced each other in 2017.

Southee also seems to have an edge over Rohit, having dismissed him thrice in T20Is for a strike rate of just 111.5.

Virat Kohli vs Ish Sodhi

New Zealand will try to capitalise on the Indian skipper’s strike rate of 94.9 against the right-arm leg break variety that has led to his dismissal twice in T20s since 2020. Sodhi has dismissed Kohli twice in 31 balls for just 39 runs in their previous encounters.

T20 World Cup: Just one of those nights, Australia captain Aaron Finch on 8-wicket loss to England

Martin Guptill vs Jasprit Bumrah

Kohli will be banking on pace spearhead Bumrah to bag an early wicket for India. Bumrah has dismissed Guptill twice in 27 deliveries in T20Is for just 28 runs and once in IPL.

Kane Williamson vs Varun Chakravarthy

The Kiwi skipper, too, hasn’t been at his flowing best against the right-arm leg break variety, scoring at a strike rate of just 110.3, the second-lowest among all types of attack after left-arm pace. India would likely test Williamson with Varun, against whom the New Zealand captain has managed just two runs off four balls.