India hold the edge over New Zealand: Virender Sehwag

Things are hotting up in the ICC World T20, 2016. The qualifiers are done and the Super 10 groups are finalised. Twenty matches are to be played in the main round across two weeks and India and New Zealand are all set to kick start proceedings on Tuesday (March 15) at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

Virender Sehwag, former Indian cricketer, analysed the game in an exclusive chat with cricbuzz and tagged India as favourites.

Here is the full transcript of his interview:

"The first game, India are playing against New Zealand and it is an important game because it will set a tone for both the sides. Unfortunately, the record against New Zealand in T20Is is not good as India have lost all the four games. India have more chances of winning against them in India as the ball will turn, the spinners will have a big role and the batsmen are very good in home conditions.

"If you have to compare the (Indian) batting line-up to New Zealand's, India have more experienced and explosive batsmen. New Zealand have only a few batsmen, who can win the game on their own. Corey Anderson is one, Martin Guptill, (Ross) Taylor, (Grant) Elliott - these are the four and maybe (Kane) Williamson. These are the top five batsmen they have, but if you compare these five batsmen to the Indian batting line-up, Shikhar (Dhawan), Rohit (Sharma), Virat (Kohli), Raina, Yuvraj (Singh), MS Dhoni, even Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin can bat. So, the New Zealand batting line-up looks a little weak, but you never know in T20 matches, any team can beat anybody.

"India have Nehra, Bumrah, Pandya and Shami, these are the four fast bowlers, with Jadeja and Ashwin as spinners. If you look at the New Zealand bowling line-up, there is Boult, Southee, Adam Milne and Mitchell Santner, these are the top bowlers and they have little experience. Boult and Southee are a very good pair. When they bowled against Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in New Zealand, they bowled beautifully. Their spinner, Santner bowled well against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They have a good bowling line-up, but India has an experienced bowling line-up compared to them.

"If I have to compare India and New Zealand's captains, MS Dhoni versus Williamson, MS Dhoni is more experienced than Williamson. But Williamson has done well in the seven games he has captained the side. The win percentage is same - 58%. So, the only factor that comes in, is the experience and coolness of MS Dhoni. He has handled pressure and this is a big game, a World Cup match and there is pressure on both sides. I think MS Dhoni has the upper hand over Williamson as a captain.

"Comparing the two sides on how they are playing, India have won 10 games out of their last 11. And they are playing continuously from January and have also played a couple of practice games. New Zealand played their last T20I in January. They have won four out of the last five games, winning two against Pakistan and two against Sri Lanka. If you look at the New Zealand side, they haven't played much T20Is since January, they have only played a couple of practice games before they take on India. So, India have a better chance to win this game if they play to their potential."