New Zealand vs India, 2020: 3-match ODI series – Statistical Preview

After completing a whitewash in the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand, the Indian team look to replicating the same success in the other two formats. India has not lost any International series since the Kiwis knocked them out in the 2019 CWC. Interestingly, this will be New Zealand’s first ODI assignment since finishing the CWC 2019 as runners-up. Both the teams are hit by injuries to their main players like Rohit Sharma and Trent Boult are ruled out of the series while Kane Williamson is set to miss the first two ODIs.

All the key stats and numbers that matter ahead of the 3-match series between India and New Zealand:

1/68 – Rohit Sharma played 67 out of the last 68 ODI matches that India has played since August 2017. The 2018 Asia Cup game against Afghanistan was the only time Rohit was not in India’s playing XI in an ODI in these 30 months.

He featured in all the 39 ODI matches played by India since that game against Afghanistan. Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the remainder of the New Zealand tour due to a calf injury. Rohit also featured in each of the previous 21 ODIs between India and New Zealand.

1 – The 4-0 home series win in 2014 is the only instance of New Zealand winning an ODI series against India in the last 16 years. During this period, India defeated New Zealand at home in 2010, 2016 and 2017 series and registered away series wins over the Kiwis in 2009 and 2019.

8 – Number of centuries Mayank Agarwal has scored in List A cricket since the start of 2018. Only Rohit Sharma (13), Virat Kohli (11) and Aaron Finch (10) have scored more tons in this format than Mayank since 2018. Mayank scored 2120 runs in 38 List A games during this period at an average of 60.57. He scored seven fifties to go along with the 8 hundreds and has a strike rate of 105.47.

9* – New Zealand has failed to win any of the 9 International matches they played since defeating England in the Bay Oval Test in December. This streak of 9 matches is the longest without a win in International cricket for the New Zealand team since 2013.

The Kiwis failed to register a win in 10 consecutive matches during their tour of Sri Lanka in 2012 that included WT20. (6 lost, 2 N/R, 2 Tie) This winless streak includes six matches at home; the longest home streak without a win in International cricket since the start of 2014.

25.79 – Martin Guptill has an ODI batting average of 25.79 against India which is his lowest against any opponent in this format. (Min: 5 innings) Guptill scored 748 runs across 30 ODI innings against India where he scored a century and four fifties. Across the last 9 ODI innings against India, Guptill has aggregated only 101 runs at an average of 11.22 with a best score of 32.

43 – New Zealand will play their first ODI since the 2017 Champions Trophy without any of Kane Williamson and Trent Boult in the playing XI. One of the two players were part of NZ’s XI in ODI format in all the 43 matches they played since the start of CT 2017.

Trent Boult was not picked for this series due to injury while Williamson is set to miss the first two matches of this series. In fact, the last instance of New Zealand playing a home ODI without any of these two players was in December 2015. The previous 42 home ODIs of New Zealand had at least one of the two players in the playing XI.

65.15 – As many as 28 players have scored more than 1000 runs in the ODI format against New Zealand but Virat Kohli’s average of 65.15 is the highest among those 28 players. In 23 ODIs against the Blackcaps, Kohli amassed 1303 runs with help of five hundreds and seven fifties.

291 – Tim Southee has picked up 291 wickets in International cricket on New Zealand soil. These are the 2nd most number of International wickets for a player in New Zealand behind Daniel Vettori’s 299 wickets. Southee needs 9 more wickets to become the first player with 300 International wickets in New Zealand.

1191 – Ross Taylor has amassed 1191 runs in the ODI format against India; the 2nd most runs for New Zealand in ODI cricket against India behind Nathan Astle’s 1207 runs. Taylor scored those runs with help of two centuries and seven fifties. He featured in all the 32 ODI matches between New Zealand and India since his ODI debut in 2006.

4000 – Martin Guptill (3910) and Ross Taylor (3877) are inching close to completing 4000 runs in ODI cricket at home. Guptill needs 90 more runs to the milestone while Taylor has to score 123 runs to get there. No player till date has aggregated 4000 ODI runs on New Zealand soil.