Christchurch:Unbeaten in their last two T20 series here, the Shreyas Iyer-led India would rely heavily on their batting firepower to outwit New Zealand even though the relatively inexperienced tourists have got barely two days to rest, acclimatise and train for the five-match rubber beginning here on Thursday. Their most recent T20 clash on New Zealand soil was in 2022 in Napier where the rain-interrupted match ended in a tie via the Duckworth-Lewis method.

The series, however, was claimed by India who managed to win the only game that was not wrecked by inclement weather.

In the line-up of batters chosen for the upcoming assignment, only four have previously played T20Is in New Zealand. That includes skipper Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube. Therefore, even though the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are known marauders, the nippy and seaming conditions in this part of the world would need some adjustment.

For Iyer, the challenge would be to prove himself in a challenging away assignment after his tenure began with back-to-back losses in Ireland and England.

Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand would be eager to make it as difficult as possible for Iyer, who is coming here after India’s second successive gold-winning run at the Asian Games and a drawn hard-fought home series against the West Indies.

However, if the New Zealand series follows the script that unfolded in the UK earlier this year, pressure will only mount on Iyer, who is expected to lead India in the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand in two years’ time. A confident Iyer said his team is used to playing in different conditions, having taken a long flight from India hours after sharing the home series against the West Indies.