IND v NZ, 2nd ODI Preview: Sketchy Kiwis aim to avoid a rout the second time

Following the conclusion of the first IND v NZ ODI at Dharamshala, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly pulled-up the Kiwis for not showing the fight and determination they once showed. Heeding to Ganguly’s words, the visitors have been quite substandard in their quest for glory in the subcontinent, something they have seldom achieved in their four previous tours to India.

However, the second ODI will now see Kane Williamson’s men on somewhat of a level playing ground with their hosts. Of course, the Indians remain to be favorites, but, a New Zealand side backed into a corner makes them all the more dangerous in terms of being an opponent. The Feroz Shah Kotla as not been the kindest of wickets in international cricket of late, but will provide an exciting encounter between the two sides.

That said, despite New Zealand’s horrific record at this venue coupled with the fact that they have not made any headway on the current tour, it can be assumed that the Indians are favorites for the win. However, as well-documented previously, New Zealand has the ability to spring a surprise, something the Indians would definitely be wary of.

Team News

India

MS Dhoni and his band of merry men will enter the encounter against the Kiwis on a high. Having comprehensively beaten their opponents on the day, they will be hoping to make their chances count before the rested players in the form of Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, and Suresh Raina makes their much-awaited return.

The previous match saw India’s pace bowling battery of Yadav, Bumrah, and Pandya impress one and all. They were well supported by the spinners as they blasted out New Zealand in a supremely dominant and impressive performance. Manish Pandey, who seemingly missed out on a good score in the first match will be looking to make amends in the second.

As far as team selection goes, it would be a radical thing for someone like MS Dhoni to even make one single change in the side. While Dhoni is not someone known for tweaking the combination, the conditions at the Feroz Shah Kotla will play a massive part in proceedings. However, as mentioned, nobody in the Indian camp would want to tweak a winning combination.

New Zealand

As mentioned earlier, it has been a drawback after drawback as far as New Zealand is concerned. Having been completely outplayed in the Test series, the first ODI was an epitome of the Kiwis’ ability to play spin bowling. While giving credit to the Indians, in a nutshell, Kane Williamson, and his men have been simply poor in their crusade against the Indians.

In spite of the terrible performances of late, there have been a few stand-outs when it comes to the grand scheme of things. Tom Latham, New Zealand’s left-handed opener has been in decent nick during his stay in India. Of course, there have been times when he has also failed with the bat, yet overall he has impressed including a wonderfully compiled 79 in the first ODI.

Tim Southee also impressed for the most part with the bat after making his much-awaited comeback from injury. However, should Mike Hesson’s men have any ambitions of winning, they would have to come together as a team and stop depending on individual performances to get them into a short competitive zone.

Probable XI

India:

MS Dhoni (C/wk), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand:

Kane Williamson (C), Luke Ronchi (wk), Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi

StAttack:

1. New Zealand has played at the Feroz Shah Kotla on two occasions. Both times they played and lost against the Indians. The Kiwis have also not played at this venue an awful lot having played the last time in November 1999.

2. India has a very good record at this venue having won 12 of their 19 matches they have played here. Two of those 19 matches have been canceled or abandoned. Moreover, the Indians have won 4 of their last five matches at this venue with one match against Sri Lanka canceled.

3. MS Dhoni requires 4 dismissals to complete 350 ODI dismissals. He has the best record for an Indian wicketkeeper in ODIs.

4. MS Dhoni requires one more century to complete 10 ODI centuries. Adam Gilchrist (16), Kumar Sangakkara (23), and Quinton de Kock (11) are the only other wicketkeeping-batsmen to achieve this feat thus far.

5. Martin Guptill requires 144 runs to complete 5000 ODI runs. Should he achieve this feat, he will become only the fifth New Zealand batsman to do so.

6. Tom Latham requires 4 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs.

7. Luke Ronchi requires 10 dismissals to complete 100 ODI dismissals. He will become only the third New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman to do this. Adam Parore and Brendon McCullum are the only others who have achieved this feat.