New Zealand vs India: Christchurch opens a big summer series: New Zealand hosts India in the first of five T20Is at Hagley Oval.
International cricket returns to Christchurch on Thursday, 22 October, as New Zealand host India in the first of five T20Is at Hagley Oval. The match is scheduled to start at 8:00 pm New Zealand time (12:30 pm IST), with the teams meeting again at the same ground on Saturday before the series moves to Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton.
There’s an extra edge to this opener: it’s the teams’ first meeting since India beat New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in March. The hosts will be led by Mitchell Santner, while Shreyas Iyer captains India. New Zealand have named Finn Allen and Tim Seifert as a reunited opening pair, backed by a deep group of seamers. Rachin Ravindra is out of the T20I series with a shoulder injury, so the home side will need others to provide his all-round contribution.
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#TeamIndia begin preps for the T20I series against New Zealand.
Our first training session commences here at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
#NZvIND https://t.co/feRiNUN2Sc
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 21, 2026
Probable XIs — not confirmed teams
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (capt.), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer (capt.), Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
These are projections from the announced squads; the final XIs will be confirmed at the toss. For New Zealand, Allen and Seifert’s attacking starts could set the tone, while India have plenty of pace and spin options to challenge them. The home side’s seam depth will also test India’s top order under lights.
Where to watch: In New Zealand, Sky is the host broadcaster for the summer’s home internationals; Sport Nation carries free-to-air audio, with live scoring through NZC. In India, the series is on Sony Sports Network, with streaming on SonyLIV. Check local listings for channel details.
The five-match T20I series runs through 1 November and is the first leg of India’s wider tour, which also includes ODIs and Tests. Christchurch gets the first say: can the Black Caps make home advantage count, or will India start their tour with a statement win?
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