After the completion of the T20I series, New Zealand and India are all set to take on each other in a five-match ODI series, starting Wednesday at Eden Park, Auckland. The ODIs haven’t drawn a lot of attention in the recent past but with the World Cup less than a year away, both teams will look to tick the remaining boxes.
Once again, the spotlight will be on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who will return to action after last playing against the West Indies. There have been doubts raised about their future, but both the batters have let their bat do all the talking.
India’s batting in ODIs is mostly settled, but it would be interesting to note how the bowling battery would perform. The visitors were not up to the mark with the ball in the T20I series and the rookie pacers like Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi Dar and Gurnoor Brar will look to grab their chances.
Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested for the ODI series. Kuldeep Yadav didn’t play a single game in the T20I series however, he must be backed by the team management in ODIs.
On the other hand, New Zealand will welcome experienced players like Henry Nicholls, Will Young and Tom Latham. The Kiwis will look to hit the ground running, something they couldn’t do in the T20I series.
Head-to-head: Matches: 123, Won by India: 63, Won by New Zealand: 52, No Result: 7, Tied: 1.
New Zealand Squad: Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Tom Latham(w), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith, Matthew Fisher, Blair Tickner, Tim Seifert, Kyle Jamieson
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan
