"I Am Really Looking Forward To The Series": Ish Sodhi On The Forthcoming White-Ball Bilateral Series Against India

Ish Sodhi, a spinner for New Zealand, has expressed his excitement for the bilateral series against India that will follow the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. India, as per the 29-year-old, is a very difficult team to defeat.

In their first five T20I matches against New Zealand, India was unsuccessful until 2017. However, in recent T20I matches, the Men in Blue have had a clear advantage.

In their last nine games against India, the Kiwis have only managed one victory, which they achieved at the T20 World Cup in 2021.

Recognizing India’s prowess across all formats, Sodhi stated, “I am really looking forward to the series (against India after the T20 WC), they are obviously a very tough team to beat in all conditions, so we are really looking forward to having them here, and we have not done well against them in the past, especially in the last T20 series, so it would be nice to turn their form around them and have a good series.”

New Zealand is renowned for its small boundaries: Ish Sodhi

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda supported by Prime Video, Sodhi predicted that the upcoming bilateral series between Team India and the Kiwis would be a high-scoring affair:

“I suppose New Zealand is known for its small boundaries. I believe there will always be runs on offer whenever a white-ball team like India appears. So, bowling becomes a more important part of the game than usual, in my opinion.”

Sodhi continued, stressing the significance of striking the ideal balance between defensive and offensive bowling throughout the course of the innings:

“If your bowlers can find a balance between being offensive and defensive, something that our opening bowlers have done really well over the years, then if the spin bowlers can complement that and be able to take some wickets, and ensure that they don’t have two or three batters toward the end they won’t have,” said the opening bowler.

Sodhi is one of the few leg-spinners that New Zealand cricket has produced over the years. The right-arm bowler recently became the fifth bowler to claim 100 T20I wickets. He is the second New Zealander to achieve the feat after Tim Southee.

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