1st ODI preview: India take on New Zealand in Vadodara
What's the story
India will take on New Zealand in the first of three ODIs at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday. The two teams have a long-standing rivalry in the format, having played some thrilling matches in the past. As both squads are studded with match-winners, a high-voltage series is on the cards. On this note, we look at the preview of the series opener.
Details
Pitch report and streaming details
The pitch at the BCA Stadium is expected to be good for batting, promising a high-scoring contest. However, bowlers, especially pacers, could get some assistance from the new ball. Spinners may also find some help if they bowl in the right areas. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream it on the JioHotstar app/website (1:30pm IST).
H2H
India's ODI dominance over New Zealand
India and New Zealand have faced each other in 120 ODIs so far, with India winning 62 and New Zealand winning 50, as per ESPNcricinfo (NR: 7, Tie: 1). While India have won each of their last seven ODIs against the Kiwis, NZ won five ODIs on the bounce before this streak started. The Kiwis have a terrible ODI record against India in India, having won just eight of the 39 concluded games against the hosts.
Match expectations
Several names missing from NZ squad
Michael Bracewell will lead a second-string NZ squad in this series with several first-choice names being rested. Devon Conway, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, and Glenn Phillips are the only other players in the squad to have featured in last year's Champions Trophy. For India, Shubman Gill will lead a strong squad that also features talismans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Kuldeep Yadav is the bowler to watch out for.
Team lineups
Predicted playing XI for both teams
India (Probable XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj. New Zealand (Probable XI): Will Young, Devon Conway (wk), Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Josh Clarkson, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell (c), Zak Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Michael Rae, Adi Ashok.
Stats
Here are the key performers
With 761 runs from 17 matches at an average of 54.35, Daryl Mitchell was the second-highest run-getter in ODIs last year. Rohit will enter the series as the top-ranked ODI batter, having enjoyed a sensational run in ODIs last year (650 runs at an incredible average of 50). Kohli has scored 1,122 ODI runs at a remarkable average of 74.80 against NZ at home. Conway averages 43.91 in ODIs in India as his strike rate goes beyond 100 (105.82).
Poll
Which batter will come on top?
Poll