Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set to open as India aim for 2-0 lead in Christchurch second T20I

India are poised to hand 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi an opening role as they seek a 2-0 lead over New Zealand in the second T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday, with Ishan Kishan ruled out and Kumar Kushagra called up as his replacement.

India carry a 1-0 advantage after chasing down 226 in the series opener, a victory built on a 28-ball 42 from captain Shreyas Iyer and an aggressive start from the openers who amassed 94 in the powerplay to put New Zealand on the back foot.

While India's batters dominated the early overs, New Zealand spinners Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell made life difficult in the middle overs; the match report notes that India's left-handed batters showed vulnerability to off-spin, which Bracewell was able to exploit.

India's bowling unit drew criticism for its lengths after the first game, a point conceded by Iyer: "...we bowled a little ahead compared to the hard lengths we should have been hitting," he said, and Axar Patel finished as India's most expensive bowler in the opener.

Individual bowling figures underline the struggles: Nitish Kumar Reddy conceded 40 runs in four overs without taking a wicket, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in his first match for India in nearly four years, went for 49 in his four overs while bowling two no-balls and two wides.

New Zealand's pace attack also had mixed returns — Matt Henry and Adam Milne found swing early but were unable to consistently trouble Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma with their lengths — and Santner pointed to areas for improvement in his side, saying: "So I think both teams could probably look at a few things here and there, which I think could have gone either way. The extras at the start maybe and obviously I think in the field we were pretty good," adding: "It's not an easy ground to catch here. A couple of more chances, closing overs at times, but, I think the powerplay is always going to be a challenge. I guess we have to find a way to slow them down (Samson and Abhishek)."

Team selection changes for India see Sooryavanshi expected to open alongside Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson projected at number three, and Tilak Varma likely to return to his usual number five after moving up the order in the first match because of Kishan's injury; Kumar Kushagra has joined the squad as Kishan's replacement.

A win in Christchurch on Saturday would give India a 2-0 lead in the five-match series; the second T20I at Hagley Oval presents both teams with a chance to address the specific batting and bowling issues highlighted in the opener.