New Zealand vs India 2019: 3 key player battles in T20I series

MS Dhoni vs Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi

MS Dhoni has struggled against spinners

2019 begun on a positive note for MS Dhoni with three consecutive half-centuries against Australia after failing to register a single score of fifty in 2018. Dhoni is back in India's T20I squad after he was left out to play the West Indies and Australia. But Dhoni has struggled to rotate strike again, especially against spinners.

New Zealand spin duo Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi will look to exploit this shortcoming in the T20s. Santner will look to target Dhoni’s pads to deprive him of room, while Sodhi's variations can also be a challenge. Dhoni could try and use his his long stride fowrard to disturb the spinners' length, but it will be difficult with both bowlers' stock ball turning away from the right-hander.