RAIPUR: After a 3-0 whitewash of the Lankans, Team India are aiming for an ODI series win against the Kiwis at home. The first ODI was a high scoring thriller, with the home team managing to eke out a narrow 12 run win, despite scoring a mammoth 349/8. with Shubman Gill smashing a brilliant double century to become the youngest player to get to an ODI 200.
The next match of the series will be played in Raipur on Saturday. Raipur's Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International cricket stadium will in fact become India's 50th ODI venue on Saturday, when it hosts its maiden one day international match.
With the city hosting its first-ever international game, a sell out crowd of 60,000 plus is expected to cheer the home team.
While India have the momentum and the series lead at 1-0, the one thing Rohit Sharma and co. will be desperate to improve upon is the bowlers' inability to finish off the opponent when they have them on the mat. In the first ODI in Hyderabad, the Kiwis were in all sorts of trouble having lost 6 of their wickets with less than 140 on the board, but the visitors still got to 337.
Once again the stand-out bowler was Mohammed Siraj, whose second consecutive four-wicket haul was the main reason Team India found themselves on the winning side. He is expected to play a key role in the second ODI in Raipur as well. The visitors looked like getting a remarkable win but the individual brilliance of Siraj stopped them.
With the bat, Shubman Gill, who scored a scintillating double century, had singlehandedly taken India to a competitive total with the others falling by the wayside. Virat Kohli's individual effort had stood out in the previous game against Sri Lanka.
Shubman Gill (IANS Photo)
Hardik Pandya, who has not been at his belligerent best of late, will be expected to give final flourish to the innings. Accommodated in the middle-order following his double hundred performance in Bangladesh, Ishan Kishan would be itching to make the most of the opportunity after an off-day in Hyderabad.
Skipper Rohit Sharma has looked good and got starts but has not been able to convert, and Saturday could his day.
However, bigger concerns lie in the bowling department after the hiding the bowlers got from Michael Bracewell, who put the Indian attack to sword on Wednesday.
India brought Shardul Thakur into the team at the expense of the super quick Umran Malik considering his batting abilities. But the management needs to decide quickly if it wants a bowler who can bat or a specialist who can rattle the opposition with extra pace and get wickets in the middle overs.
Siraj has developed into an all phase bowler but others need to step up. Mohammad Shami was brilliant with the new ball but was taken to the cleaners by Bracewell. Hardik too was expensive.
In the spin department, Washington Sundar had a game to forget while Kuldeep Yadav continued his impressive run. The team also has the option playing Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep together but it has stuck to one wrist spinner and one finger spinner policy.
TOI Photo
For the Men in Blue, every ODI played this year, especially at home, is in a way a preparation for the ODI World Cup in October-November in India. India remember haven't won the ODI World Cup title since 2011, when the tournament was last played in the subcontinent, with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as co-hosts.
New Zealand's never-say-die spirit came to the fore in the series opener and they would take a lot of heart from that. It won't be a regular occurrence that a number seven in Bracwell and number eight in Mitchell Santner will bring back the team from a hopeless situation.
Finn Allen played some bold strokes but could not make it big. And in the absence of Kane Williamson, New Zealand need someone to anchor the innings.
The pace trio of Henry Shipley, Lockie Ferguson and Blair Tickner will be looking for more accuracy after being mercilessly attacked by Gill. It remains to be seen if Ish Sodhi regains full fitness for the must-win game for his team.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Finn Allen, Doug Bracewell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner.
(With inputs from PTI)
