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Badal: Yes, you are absolutely right! Back in 2016, Virat Kohli won 6 Player of the Match awards, which till date is the highest for an Indian in a calendar year. Surya is tied with the KING, and most probably, he will get this record under his belt with some games left.

Update 11:44 AM IST | The rain is back and we are in for further delay.

12:09 PM IST | The latest the match can start is 2:16 PM IST!

Ish Sodhi: "It is always going to be tough to get up within a short span because of the scheduling these days. We've only been back from Australia for a week, but playing against a team like India is always exciting and definitely motivating. I don't want to say it's easy (to be a spinner in New Zealand), because it's not. Bowling with boundaries in different venues is a one-of-a-kind experience.

I believe it is due to communication; it is encouraging to see that we have formed a partnership (about his bowling partnership with Mitchell Santner). If Mitch goes for fewer runs at one end, I can attack from the other, and vice versa.

This is a one-of-a-kind bowling alley (Sky Stadium, Wellington). There isn't much of a turn, and the square boundaries are shorter than the straighter ones. On this ground, varying the line has been an important part of our planning as a spin bowling unit. Bowling the wide line when necessary and attempting to get them to hit to the straighter boundary has been discussed for a long time and has potentially resulted in a few wickets." 

12:43 PM IST | It is still raining at the moment and things don't look good for a match to happen. The pours have gotten heavier.

1:23 PM IST | It is official now that the match has been called off. 

Hardik Pandya (India Captain): "The boys were ready to play for a good game but unfortunately, it didn't happen. Absolutely we're quite excited to play. A lot of people were there for the game, and therefore the boys were excited.

To be honest yes, I know the other boys as well, they are going to follow what the management or the captain is going to say. I am not worried about that, all are professionals and they will find a way to get it done.

Absolutely, that is what I tell, they are young but not really young as they have the experience, played ample IPL games. One or two guys I guess haven't played many international games but the other boys have played quite a few international games. I think the kind of youngsters they are, they are not worried if they get less game time. They have self-belief and that is what has brought them here.

We will look to see that the boys get ample opportunity and gain experience from here. World Cup is done to be honest, I would like to keep it behind. Obviously, it was disappointing. What's done is done, you can't change it. The journey from here to two years down the line has started."

Kane Williamson (New Zealand Captain): "Yeah, obviously, quite quickly after the big tournament, we are having to play this. We have around 18 odd months before the next T20 World Cup, so we have ample amount of time for the preparations.

We will see a lot more of ODI cricket in the coming months preparing for the next ICC assignment in white-ball cricket. So people will get the opportunity to showcase their talents. As a team, we have been doing well. But we were not able to cross the knockout hurdle for a few years now. It happens in the course of the game. But we have a lot of positives to be taken from those games.

We have Adam Milne and others now in the squad. No doubt, Trent Boult is an essential part of the team. His absence also gives opportunities for others to step up.

You know India are a great side. Playing against them is a great thing. They have been playing great cricket for years. It is good to see those amount of talents and evolve from IPL. So yeah, they are a competitive side.

Obviously, a couple of extra days, or a week off, would have been a great thing. But, yeah, this is cricket, and this is how it goes."

So we bow out of the first T20I with disappointment. The persistent downpour has made the match officials abandon the game without even the toss. We move on to the second game, where the weather is assumingly good in Mount Maunganui. The game is scheduled for Sunday. But be with us for the games across the globe.

For now, it is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Arijit Kundu and Badal Pareek, who, alongside our scorer/analyst Paras Yadav brought you all the live updates of this rain-dominated fixture. We will meet in the next encounter. Until then, it is a goodbye!