After a devastating series loss against Australia, New Zealand gears up to host England in a three-match T20I series. The first match of the series is scheduled to be played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday New Zealand New Zealand will look to start the series on a positive note against England after a heartbreaking T20I series against Australia last time out. Mitchell Santer is set to resume the leadership duties after missing out in the last series. The Kiwis are in solid form this year if we exclude their last series performance, having defeated Pakistan earlier this year and winning the tri-nation series against South Africa and Zimbabwe. The hosts have major names missing in this series due to injury, but Rachin Ravindra is set to return after missing the Australia series due to a facial injury. Tim Robinson, who scored a blistering century against Australia, will be seen in the batting lineup. England England, on the other hand, is coming into this series after beating Ireland 2-0 in a three-match T20I series. Earlier, they had drawn the three-match T20I series against South Africa 1-1 in a thrilling fashion. The Three Lions have been playing some attacking cricket so far, would be eager to carry their momentum against New Zealand as well. Harry Brook will resume the captaincy. England have already announced their playing XI for the opening match on Saturday, and the opening duo of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler will look to start on an aggressive note. Tom Banton returns for this match, and Luke Wood will be spearheading the bowling attack with Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid as the two-spin duo. NZ vs ENG 1st T20I Match Details NZ vs ENG T20I Match Details Match New Zealand vs England 1st T20I Match Date and Time Saturday, October 18; 11:45 a.m. IST Venue Hagley Oval, Christchurch Broadcasting and live streaming TV - Sony Sports Network Live Stream - SonyLIV app NZ vs ENG 1st T20I Pitch Report The surface at the Bay Oval pitch offers a complete batting track for the batters. It’s flat with good bounce and carry, favouring aggressive stroke makers, especially in the first innings. Moreover, the shorter boundary dimensions also give the batting side the license to go big. But as the game progresses, the surface tends to flatten out, and batters will get enough time to play their desired shots. Spinners may come into play later in the match if the surface starts to tear. The average first innings total in 20-over cricket is just 91 this year, which shows that batting is not going to be an easy task on this surface. NZ vs ENG 1st T20I Weather Report The weather is expected to remain cooler throughout the entire match, with 10% of rain interruption in the match. The temperature is likely to be around 9-14°C. The wind speed may assist bowlers in swinging the new ball. NZ vs ENG Head-to-Head Records NZ vs ENG head-to-head (in T20Is) Match Played 27 Won by New Zealand 10 Won by England 15 Tied 1 No Result 1 NZ vs ENG 1st T20I Probable XI New Zealand: Devon Conway (wk), Tim Seifert, Tim Robinson, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Zakary Foulkes, Mitchell Santner (c), Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell England (already announced): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Jordan Cox, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood Players To Watch Out For In NZ vs ENG 1st T20I Match Tim Seifert | NZ: The 30-year-old right-hand batter is one of the best attacking players in this format for the New Zealand team. He starts his attack from ball one and goes berserk for a long inning. He has featured in 74 matches in this format and has scored 1788 runs, including 12 half-centuries. Phil Salt | ENG: Phil Salt needs no introduction when it comes to aggressive cricket. The right-hander is capable of destroying the opposition single-handedly in the first six overs with his aggressive power hitting. He has featured in 47 T20I matches, scoring 1452 runs with 4 centuries and 6 half-centuries in the format. He is one player to watch out for in this game. NZ vs ENG 1st T20I Toss Prediction Historical Toss-Winning Stats at the Venue In the last three T20 matches played at this venue, the teams that won the toss have opted to bowl twice and bat once. Advantages of Bowling First on This Pitch The team batting first at this venue has won just 4 out of the total 12 matches played here, while the teams batting second have won 8 games. This trend suggests that teams should prefer to bowl first on this surface and try to restrict the opponent to an under-par score. NZ vs ENG T20I Today's Match Scenario Scenario 1 Toss Winner: New Zealand (opts to bowl first) Power-Play Score: 40-45 ENG Total: 140-160 Match Winner: New Zealand Scenario 2 Toss Winner: England (opts to bowl first) Power-Play Score: 40-50 NZ Total: 150-160 Match Winner: England Who will win today's NZ vs ENG T20I match? Both England and New Zealand are in top form in the T20I cricket recently. But considering their last series outcome, England are likely to win this game. Moreover, England have been unbeaten in their last five matches and have already adapted an aggresive cricket in this format, which is likely to be continued in this tour as well.