The T20 World Cup has ended and it’s time for a shift from this format. With the World cup approaching, the centre of attraction for the next few months is the One-Day International format of Cricket.
India and New Zealand are set to face each other in a three-match series, starting from the 25th of November in Auckland.
Both the teams would keep an eye on their preparations for the CWC and try to figure out the squad for the same.
Talking about the Head to Head results, India has won 55 of the 110 encounters between the nations, while the hosts have won 49, and the other 6 ended with a Tie/No Result.
India
The last two World Cup semi-finals have been heart-wrenching for the Indian team and fans. Being the host of the upcoming tournament, the onus is on the team to bring the cup home after 12 years. The preparations for the same shall begin right from this series.
The form is with the Indian team, having won the T20 Series one-nil against the Kiwis. The team would aspire to return home with a similar result in the ODI Series as well.
The senior players of the team have been rested, and the onus is on the youngsters to prove their worth and make an impact in the head of the selectors as well.
New Zealand
The blackcaps have been remarkably consistent in the limited-overs format of the game over the last 7 years. However, they have failed to lift the glorious trophy even after reaching the finals in two consecutive ODI World cups and a T20 World Cup.
The Kiwis would like to start afresh after their world cup exit followed by a one-zero defeat in the T20 Series. The relevance of One-Day Internationals has increased significantly now, and New Zealand would definitely want to start their preparations for the World Cup with a Win over a dominant Indian side.
With Trent boult opting out of the national contract and uncertainties regarding his future in international cricket, New Zealand has the task of finding a replacement for the left-arm pacer.
Pitch Report
Out of the 74 ODI games that have been played in this venue, 42 have been won by the chasing team. The average score in the first innings stands at 220, quite suggestive of the fact that the Auckland pitch generally tends to be friendly to the bowlers.
The green covering can be expected, which makes it quite obvious that the fast bowlers are going to thrive.
Probable Playing XI
India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubhman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry
Players to Watch Out For
Shreyas Iyer: The right arm batsman has been in quite some form in the particular format. He has completely put an end to India’s No.4 woes. Iyer loves batting against the Kiwis particularly, as he has scored 217 runs in 3 innings against them, including a century.
Suryakumar Yadav: The World has been in awe of the gameplay of the Mumbai lad.
‘SKY’ has proved himself as a T20 batsman time and again. However, it’s time for him to make an impact in a slightly longer format of the game. All eyes would be on the man, expecting him to make us all go insane once again with his out of the world batting style.
Devon Conway: Conway has proved himself as a three format player with his incredible consistency in all the formats. The big man knows how to build the innings and accelerate just at the right time. New Zealand would depend a lot on Conway and expect him to do something extraordinary yet again for defeating a pumped up Indian side.
Tim Southee: Tim has been the main man for the Kiwis for years , and with the exclusion of Boult from the side, there is an increased responsibility on him as a senior member of the squad and the leader of the bowling unit.
Southee also has the opportunity of becoming the 4th Kiwi pacer and only the 2nd active pacer to pick up 200 ODI wickets, as he currently stands at a tally of 199.
Interesting Matchups
Kane Williamson vs Yuzvendra Chahal: 76 runs in 105 balls, 4 dismissals.
Devon Conway vs Kuldeep Yadav: 37 runs in 11 balls (In the IPL).
Shikhar Dhawan vs Matt Henry: 13 runs in 21 balls, 1 dismissal
Shubman Gill vs Matt Henry: 13 runs in 17 balls, 1 dismissal
Dream11 Team for NZ vs IND 1st ODI
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Match Prediction
We expect New Zealand to make a comeback and defeat India in the first encounter of the series.
Conway would be my player to watch out for! Nice preview.