After a thrilling chase in the first ODI against New Zealand Or Virat Kohli (93) and young Harshit Rana (29 & 2/65) After leading India to a 4-wicket victory, the caravan headed towards Rajkot. Leading the series 1-0, Shubman GilIndia has a chance to win the series with one match remaining. New Zealand, led by Michael Bracewellshowed immense courage with the bat in the first match, but will need their inexperienced bowling attack to prevail on one of the flattest decks in the world.
Team News and Tactics
The Indian batting engine purrs. Rohit Sharma playing purely as a batter freed him to attack from the first ball, while Gill (56 in the 1st ODI) and Kohli anchored the middle perfectly.
With Washington Sundar absent from the squad after being left out of the rest of the series, India will likely call on Nitish Kumar Reddy Or Ayush Badoni to balance the lower order. However, given the flat deck, they could trust Nitish as a bowling all-rounder to partner Harshit Rana.
Meanwhile, the Kiwis posted a competitive score of 300 in the first match thanks to Daryl Mitchell (84) And Devon Conway (56)but their bowling lacked penetration against the Indian middle order. Kyle Jamieson (4 wickets in the 1st ODI) was the only positive of the ball. Captain Bracewell needs to manage his spinners better as Rajkot can be brutal for slow bowlers if they don’t find the right length.
IND vs NZ, 2nd ODI: Match Details
- Date and time: January 14; 1:30 p.m. IST / 8:00 a.m. GMT
- Place: Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot
Face-to-face registration (ODI):
Matches played: 121 | India won: 63 | New Zealand won: 50 | No result/Tie: 8
Niranjan Shah Stadium Pitch Report:
The Niranjan Shah Stadium is historically a graveyard for bowlers. The surface is hard, providing real bounce and minimal lateral movement, encouraging hitters to get over the line. Heavy dew is expected in the evening, which will make hunting much easier. The captain who wins the toss will almost certainly bowl first.
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Squads
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul (week), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Ayush Badoni, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (week), Michael Bracewell (c), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok, Jayden Lennox, Nick Kelly, Josh Clarkson, Michael Rae
IND vs NZ, 2nd ODI: Match of the Day Prediction
Case 1:
- India wins the toss and bowls first
- New Zealand power play score: 40-50
- New Zealand total score: 280-300
Case 2:
- New Zealand wins the toss and bowls first
- India power play score: 55-65
- India’s total score: 300-330
Match result: the bowling team is the first to win the competition
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