On the heels of a five-ODI set, the New Zealand cricket team will host India at Wellington Regional Stadium for the first of three T20I matches.
For those in the United States, the match is scheduled to start Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET. While it won’t be broadcast nationally on television anywhere in the US, you can watch a live stream of the match on your computer, phone, or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage to dozens of sporting events, including international cricket, every week.
You can start a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the match — and every other match of the India Tour of New Zealand series — on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
If you can’t watch live, the match will be available to be watched on-demand via ESPN+ afterward.
New Zealand vs India 1st T20 Preview
In the final ODI of the preceding five-match set, Indian bats overcame early struggles to post 252 runs before the side bowled the Black Caps out at 217 to put the finishing touches on their dominant 4-1 series victory, bouncing back from a defeat in Hamilton.
Men in Blue stars Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni, and Shubman Gill combined for just 16 runs thanks to the bowling brilliance of Trent Boult and Matt Henry, who took seven wickets between them. But five more Black Caps bowlers combined for just one more wicket.
Indian right-handed batsman Ambati Rayudu went for 90 runs off 113 balls to be named man of the match.
“It was very tough against a quality bowling attack,” Rayudu said, according to the Hindustan Times. “Was thinking we should take the game to 30th over without losing another wicket. Our only plan was to play the full 50 overs. Especially for people batting at four, five and six, you get opportunities only when the situation is tough. Don’t think setting totals has ever been an issue. That was a one-off game in Hamilton. Might face similar challenges in future. Great effort by our bowlers.”
Sharma was pleased with how his team responded to the loss in the fourth ODI.
“Especially after the Hamilton loss, that was a big loss for us the way we lost there,” he told the paper. “At the toss I said we needed to come together as a team and we did that. Four down, we needed someone to apply, and Rayudu and Vijay Shankar did that.”
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson scored 39 on 73 balls. For the fourth straight ODI, he failed to reach 40. He hadn’t gone four ODIs with scoring 40 in a match since 2015.
He said his side could learn a lot from the ODI series drubbing.
“They’ve been great experiences to have, to learn and try and move our game forward, which is extremely important for us to make steps forward in the right direction,” Williamson said, according to the New Zealand Herald.
“The idea is that as a squad you’re wanting to have guys in these situations and have these experiences, so over a bigger picture we’ll all be better for it. I think that’ll be the best part that came out of this series, it was a very tough series.
“We’ve had a large squad that have been exposed [to India’s strength] and have had the experiences that we’ve wanted. Although they’ve been tough and we’ve been on the wrong side of the results, overall I think it’s been a positive thing.”
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How to Watch New Zealand vs India 1st T20 Online in USA