While the pitch in Ranchi left Hardik Pandya "surprised", the India captain was "shocked" by what was on offer in Lucknow. And when the talk is largely about the playing surface ahead of a series decider, especially with India's proud record of 12 undefeated home series on the line, something's got to give.

Ahmedabad, the venue for the third and final T20I between India and New Zealand, has had its fair share of debate around pitches in the past. And the last thing both teams would want is another tricky T20 surface that sees Lockie Ferguson bowl as many overs as Mark Chapman; or Deepak Hooda twice as many as Yuzvendra Chahal.

Pitch aside, India will know that there's work to be done, especially with a young side that's trying to ready itself for 2024. After a breezy ODI whitewash, the T20I rubber hasn't been as easy for the hosts. While the death bowling cost them in Ranchi, their batting was under the scanner two days later; India got past a target of 100 with only a ball to spare. But the challenging conditions stole the thunder away, hardly allowing the team to assess their progress. For example, Arshdeep Singh bowled the 20th over again after copping some heat in the first T20I, but that he was up against a team limping at 94/8 hardly lent credibility to his five-run last over.

For New Zealand, this is a great opportunity. They are without a host of their frontline players like Trent Boult, Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, and are in with a shot to beat India in a T20I series at home - the bragging rights for which has belonged only to Australia and West Indies in the last eight years. For Mitchell Santner's team, that will be a great shot in the arm and expect the side to mount a good challenge for the hosts, pitch permitting of course.

When: Wednesday, 01 February, 2023 from 7:00 PM local
Where: India vs NZ, 3nd T20I, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

What to expect: A nervous curator. And a fair few cheers for Hardik Pandya, the Gujarat Titans captain who is also leading the India T20I side now. Like most Indian grounds, teams have preferred to bat second here but in the last couple of games here against England, India showed that it is in fact possible to defend targets here. That said, those games were played in March; this one could see some fair amount of dew though. It will be interesting to see what pitch the match is played on (Ahmedabad has both red and black soil pitches) but expect the venue to be buzzing again with capacity crowds.

India vs New Zealand TV and Live Streaming details
TV: Star Sports Network

Live Streaming: Hotstar

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