After an overwhelming 3-0 victory in the recently concluded Test series, Team India look to continue their domination over New Zealand as they kick-off the five-match ODI series at the scenic Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamsala.
The ‘Men in Blue’ under limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be playing One-Day Internationals following a gap of four months after they defeated Zimbabwe with ease and conquered the series 3-0 with a second-string side.
The Kiwis will be facing an altogether different side from the Tests with Umesh Yadav and Amit Mishra the only bowlers retained from the test squad along with Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma.
Also read: India vs New Zealand: 5 players to watch out for in the ODI series
Dhoni will be without the services of R Ashwin, Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja for the first three ODIs with the new team of selectors opting to rest the frontline tormentors-in-chief from the Test series. Uttar Pradesh pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also unavailable due to a back strain. Openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, who impressed on his shorter format debut in Zimbabwe, have also been left out of the squad due to injuries. Rohit Sharma returns after being rested for the Zimbabwe series.
Left-hand batsman Suresh Raina, who played for India in an ODI last in October 2015, makes a comeback to the One-Day setup. Middle-order batsman Kedar Jadhav held on to his place even though he did not get an opportunity to bat in Zimbabwe along with promising youngster Manish Pandey who won hearts with his maiden ton against Australia in the ODI series Down Under at the start of the year while surprisingly Ambati Rayudu misses out.
The Black Caps are coming off the back of a series of impressive performances in the 50-over format after consecutive series victories over Pakistan and arch rivals Australia at home. They will be boosted by the addition of pace spearhead Tim Southee along with all-rounders Corey Anderson and Anton Devchich to their limited overs squad. They will be looking to register their first win of the tour after getting beat comprehensively in the test series.
Match Details:
Venue: HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
Date: 16th October (Sunday)
Time: 13:30 IST/ 08:00 GMT
Broadcast: Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1 in English / Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD 3 in Hindi
Online Stream: www.starsports.com
Recent Form:
India: W-W-W-W-L
New Zealand: W-L-W-W-W
Team Talk:
India
The big news coming out of the Indian camp is that Suresh Raina, included in the ODI squad after a year out, will miss the first ODI as he recovers from a bout of viral fever. No replacement has been named by the selectors giving an indication that he might play a part in the second and third ODIs.
With Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul unavailable, India’s batting mainstay from the Test series, Ajinkya Rahane is all set to take up the mantle of opening the batting along with the returning Rohit Sharma.
Jasprit Bumrah and Dhawal Kulkarni are expected to lead the bowling line-up with Axar Patel and Amit Mishra forming the spin contingent. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav is likely to miss out. Dhoni has backed all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s abilities in the past and will continue to do so in the upcoming fixture.
New Zealand
This will be the first ODI for the Kiwis without former captain and swashbuckling batsman Brendon McCullum who announced his retirement after the Australia series earlier in February. New Zealand have added three new faces to their Test squad as Tim Southee, Corey Anderson and Anton Devchich replace Neil Wagner, Jeetan Patel and Henry Nicholls.
Returning Devchich is expected to open with Martin Guptill who showed signs of form with a fighting half century in the last innings at Indore. Southee will lead the bowling attack with Trent Boult and Matt Henry, who shone in the Test series, as his partners.
Mitchell Santner will be the spin option with James Neesham and Corey Anderson expected to provide more bowling options for captain Kane Williamson.
Probable Line-ups:
India probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (C) (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Dhawal Kulkarni.
New Zealand probable XI: Martin Guptill, Anton Devchich, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Luke Ronchi (wk), Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.
Conditions Watch:
The first ODI is set to be played at the HPCA Cricket Stadium in Dharamsala, one of the most picturesque grounds in the world, with a backdrop of the snow-capped Himalayas. It has played host two ODIs before, with India winning one and losing one.
The pitch here is expected to be fast and bouncy with batsmen getting value for their shots. The pitch here usually offers a lot of runs as witnessed by India’s previous matches at the venue when they amassed a huge total of 330 against West Indies and won the game. In a T20I against South Africa in 2015, India after scoring a total of 200, ended up on the losing side.
The dew factor becomes a major influence in the evening which is why the team winning the toss shall look to chase.
Key Stats:
#1 India has played two ODIs at the HPCA Stadium, losing the first one against England in 2013 and winning the second fixture against West Indies in 2014.
#2 Virat Kohli scored a century in the match against the Windies and will look to make a similar contribution. Rohit Sharma also has a T20I century against South Africa at the venue.
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