New Zealand Vs India 2020: 1st ODI, Hamilton — Preview

Demolition – the perfect word to sum up the New Zealand vs India T20I series. That’s what took place throughout the recently-concluded series. India thrashed New Zealand in a manner that no one had thought and witnessed before. New Zealand came close at certain moments. But then again, Team India made sure that they leave no room for error against the Black Caps.

India dominated the Kiwis in spectacular fashion. The Men in Blue always had an answer to all the questions that the Kiwis put upfront. Throughout the series, India made a comeback in the game after almost having it out of sight for a while. A perfect specimen of the same is super over in the third T20I.

Also Read: Shock Recall For Matthew Wade As Australia Announce ODI And T20I Squads For South Africa Tour

New Zealand, on the other hand, couldn’t find their rhythm throughout the series. There were moments where New Zealand had the game in their control but they let it slip out of their hands in a silly manner.

Especially, in the last three T20Is, New Zealand threw the match away after almost winning it thrice. They are now being deemed as the new ‘chokers’ of international cricket.

Team India Will Look To Put Early Pressure:

India is on cloud nine at the moment. They are proving themselves to be a global force in world cricket. Their dominance across all formats has now given them the credit to be one of the world’s best. They will now look to put early pressure on the Kiwis by giving them a fighting challenge in the first game of the series.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah is back to full fitness and grabbed the Man of the Match award in the final game of the T20I series.

The visitors will now like to put immense pressure on the hosts early on in the series when they face-0ff on February 5 in Hamilton.

Date and venue: February 05th, 2020, 07:30 am, Seddon Park, Hamilton.

New Zealand vs India 2020 – Playing Combinations:

India:

For India, the bad news is that opener Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the series. He picked a calf injury in the final T20I of the series and will now be away for the ODI series. It is a huge blow for the team as Shikhar Dhawan was already away due to injury. Mayank Agarwal has been named as Rohit’s replacement.

This makes way for Prithvi Shaw to open the innings with Mayank Agarwal. Captain Kohli has made it clear that KL Rahul will not open in ODIs and will bat in the middle order. It will be a test of potential for the young lad and if he wants a permanent seat in the team, this could well prove to be the golden opportunity for him.

Predicted XI: Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K.L. Rahul, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Navdeep Saini.

New Zealand:

For New Zealand, the biggest setback is that Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the first two ODIs. Williamson suffered a shoulder injury in the third T20I and was out for the last two T20Is as well. Tom Latham will now lead the Kiwis in the first two ODIs. Mark Chapman has been named as Kane’s replacement.

Predicted XI: Ross Taylor, Tim Southee, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham (c), Hamish Bennett, Colin de Grandhomme, Colin Munro, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kugeleijn, and James Neesham.

New Zealand vs India: Head to Head –

Played – 107

New Zealand won – 46

India won – 55

Tied- 1

No Result- 5

New Zealand vs India 2020: Match Prediction –

India will look to apply early pressure on the Kiwis. New Zealand will miss a key figure in Williamson. It will be difficult for them to handle Indian pressure. Virat Kohli and his men will look to gain advantage of the relatively inexperienced Kiwi side.

A 5-0 T20I series defeat at home will definitely be hard to move on for the Kiwis. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top after the game on Wednesday.

Also Read: Prithvi Shaw To Debut As Virat Kohli Confirms India’s New Opening Combination For New Zealand ODIs