New Zealand vs India, 2nd ODI, Preview: Kiwis look for redemption after the Napier hammering

Will India make any changes to their playing XI?

Published - 25 Jan 2019, 13:45 IST | Updated - 25 Jan 2019, 13:45 IST

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The ODI series began with the feeling that New Zealand will give India a run for their money. Even the visitors must have expected a tough outing first up at the McLean Park in Napier. But the Indian bowling attack which has been a revolution over the past 12-15 months did wonders again and the hosts crumbled. Mohammed Shami started it all with a top-notch spell with the new ball and then the spinners took over seamlessly.

Yuzvendra Chahal sent back New Zealand’s most consistent player Ross Taylor and Kuldeep Yadav took care of the lower-middle order. The Kiwis looked out of ideas completely against the spinners and should come out with some plans to tackle them at the Bay Oval. Kane Williamson, amidst all the chaos, crafted a wonderful half-century and continues to hold key to the home team.

The whole country will be celebrating Republic Day back home when the Men in Blue will take the field on Saturday. A victory in this game will give the fans another reason to celebrate and at the moment, Virat Kohli and Co. are the favourites. The openers haven’t fired together for a while now and the management would be expecting for Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan to torment the opposition with an assault.

Also Read: NZ v IND 2nd ODI Match Prediction

Team Combinations

New Zealand

The pitch at the Bay Oval is known to assist the spinners as the game progresses. This might tempt them to bring in Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee will have to make way for him. Southee’s stakes are going down very quickly in white-ball cricket and his show in the first ODI didn’t help him as well. The middle-order is suddenly looking brittle for the Kiwis the way they played the spinners and Williamson’s role will be huge to guide them. The bowling still looks fine for the Black Caps but the batsmen should put up runs on the board first.

Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Doug Bracewell, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson.

India

India will possibly won’t be making any changes. None of their players wasn’t tested enough in the series opener and they would want to give the same set of players another go. Having said that, there might be a case for Mohammed Shami to be rested as he is playing continuously since the Australia Tests. At some stage in this series, he will be rested and he deserves it but it looks unlikely that the bowler himself will agree to sit out having won the Man of the Match award in the previous match.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami.

Have you Read? NZ v IND 2nd ODI Dream 11 Fantasy Tips

Focus will be on

Colin Munro (New Zealand)

Colin Munro’s inconsistency is hurting the Kiwis at the top. He couldn’t do much in Sri Lanka series as well and should start scoring runs soon. His failures are putting pressure on the middle-order and especially Williamson who has more often than not walked out to bat within first five overs. A decent start from Munro will help them in posting or chasing big totals.

Vijay Shankar (India)

One should feel for Vijay Shankar. He hasn’t done much wrong in the two matches played but is guilty of not setting the stage on fire immediately. With Hardik Pandya on his way to New Zealand, Shankar might be playing his last match on the tour. Unless he does anything unimaginable in any of the departments, Pandya will replace Shankar in the next ODI.