New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI: NZ vs SL Head to Head, Playing XI, Preview, Where to Watch on TV, Online, and Live Streaming Details

After 2-0 win in Tests, New Zealand turn their focus to white-ball cricket as they host Sri Lanka in the first ODI at Auckland's Eden Park on Saturday, March 25. Sri Lanka almost clinched the first Test but the hosts survived in a last-ball thriller in Christchurch.

A defeat ended Sri Lanka's hopes of making it to the World Test Championship final and that disappointment clearly reflected in the Wellington Test as the hosts emerged victorious by an innings and 58 runs.

New Zealand beat Pakistan 1-2 in (in Pakistan) ODIs in January but lost all three ODIs against India in the following series. They almost chased the 350-run target in the first ODI against India but fell 12 runs short. However, they were bowled out for just 108 runs in the second game and allowed India to score 385 runs in the last ODI.

The Kiwis have won all of their last five ODIs against Sri Lanka but will find it difficult to dominate the upcoming series. Majority of senior players for New Zealand are missing the series as they are on their way to India for the Indian Premier League 2023 season which kicks off on March 31. Ben Lister, who made his T20I debut against India, is in line to make ODI debut while Chad Bowes is also in contention for international debut.

Captain Kane Williamson, who skipped India ODIs to focus on Tests against England, is missing from the squad again. Michael Bracewell and Devon Conway, who were the only centurions on India tour, are also absent along with Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, and Mitchell Santner. Glenn Phillips and Finn Allen are only available for the first ODI and Mark Chapman and Henry Nicholls will replace them in the last two ODIs.

Coming back to the travelling side, they also lost against India 3-0 in their last ODI series and it was an alarming defeat for them. Sri Lanka are yet to secure a direct qualification for the ODI World Cup and need to win all three upcoming matches against New Zealand to qualify.

The Dasun Shanaka-led team has named its strongest possible squad for the tough task. The veteran batting all-rounder Angelo Mathews is returning to the white-ball setup after a gap of two years alongside wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Perera. Young pacer Matheesha Pathirana is in line to make his ODI debut while uncapped batters Lasith Croospulle and Sahan Arachchige are in for international debuts.

Pitch & Conditions:

Eden Park's wicket has a batting-friendly nature and provides some little help for the spinners in the middle overs. Both teams might name two spinners for this fixture. The average first innings score at the venue is 221. The teams chasing have won 46 out of 91 ODI matches at the ground.

Probable Playing XIs for NZ vs SL, 1st ODI:

New Zealand

In the pre-match press conference, Tom Latham confirmed that Chad Bowes and Rachin Ravindra will make their ODI debuts in the upcoming game. Ben Lister is likely to warm the bench with Blair Tickner, Henry Shipley, and Matt Henry will most likely form the three-man pace attack.

Ish Sodhi, who last played an ODI in 2015, will be leading the spin attack with Rachin. Will Young is likely to get selected ahead of the in-form Tom blundell with Latham to don the wicketkeeping gloves.

Probable Playing XI: Chad Bowes, Finn Allen, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Shipley, Blair Tickner, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka have named a strong 18-member squad for the ODIs so the management will have to take some tough decisions ahead of the first game. Angelo Mathews is likely to start ahead of Chamika Karunaratne but is not expected to bowl. Pathirana is likely to get a nod over Kasun Rajitha with Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana set to play too.

Probable Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Daasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana

NZ vs SL Head-to-Head in ODIs:

Played - 99 | New Zealand - 49 | Sri Lanka - 41 | Tied - 1 | NR - 8

NZ vs SL Broadcast Details::

Timings: March 25, 06:30 AM IST, 02:00 PM Local Time

Live Streaming: Prime Video App/Webiste

Live Broadcast: Not available for users in India