IND vs NZ T20I cricket match: Will rain play spoilsport in Wellington? Check latest weather forecast

After a disappointing end to the T20 World Cup 2022 campaign, India will look to bounce back in the T20I series against New Zealand. The Men in Blue are touring New Zealand for three T20 matches from November 18 to 22 and then three ODIs from November 25-30. Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be leading the side in the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma. Star batsman Virat Kohli has also been rested for the series.

India will play the first T20 against New Zealand in Wellington on Friday, November 18. The match will start at 12:00 pm (IST). The venue for the IND vs NZ match is the Wellington Regional Stadium. As per the latest weather forecast, there is a rain threat looming large on the match. 

Wellington is predicted to witness showers starting from a couple of hours before the match. The weather is expected to get slightly better around 2:00 pm as the forecast suggests that the downpour will reduce into light rain. However, rain is predicted to continue not just for the entire duration of the match but all day on Friday. The temperature will remain around 20 degrees Celsius, as per the forecast. 

An 80 percent cloud cover is expected when the match starts. The chances of rain will climb from around 50 percent at the start of the match to 80 percent by 4 pm. 

IND vs NZ team news

India has a changed squad from the star-studded lineup that played in the T20 World Cup 2022. Big names like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharm, KL Rahul are not part of the squad. Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and comeback wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik have also not made the cut. 

Here are the full squads of India and New Zealand for the three-match T20I series:

IND: Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya (c), Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (w), Rishabh Pant (w), Sanju Samson (w), Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal

NZ: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry (ODI), Tom Latham (ODI) (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi (T20), Tim Southee, Blair Tickner (T20)

READ | New Zealand vs India T20I, ODI series: Squads, schedule, venue, live streaming details- All you need to know