New Zealand vs India 2020: 2nd ODI, Auckland - Preview

Finally, it has happened. Team India have lost a game in the New Zealand tour. Having stayed unbeaten in the first five games so far, the men in blue have tasted defeat. They were soaring high in spirits and were ready to clean sweep the BlackCaps in the ODIs too. But, the Kiwis showed intent this time and depicted that although they might be missing the key players in their squad, they are still capable of competing with the world giants.

For the sub-continent side, the defeat came much as a shock. Indian batsmen ensured that they post an above-average score on the Seddon Park pitch. They eventually managed to do it. But, India’s key problem since the inception of cricket in the country, their bowling, was again exposed as the Indian bowlers had a nightmare on the field and couldn’t defend a mammoth score of 347 runs.

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Questions have been raised on team management’s selection procedure as well. Navdeep Saini has been excellent for the men in blue in international cricket so far. But, Shardul Thakur was kept ahead of him in the Playing XI and fans and experts can not believe as to what forced this decision? Also, Yuzvendra Chahal was on the bench and Kuldeep Yadav was in the final eleven. This decision was also beyond imagination as Chahal brings in much more variations than Kuldeep.

Eventually, Kuldeep and Shardul proved to be the most expensive bowlers for India in the first ODI. Both had a poor economy rate of above eight runs per over in the game. However, we should also consider that no team is perfect enough to have a 100 per cent winning record and that might just be an off day for team India on the field.

India Will Eye A Comeback

As the proverb says, ‘A wounded lion becomes much more dangerous,’ team India will also look to come back strongly in the series. A defeat initially in the series has put a lot of pressure on the men in blue as another loss might prove to be the first bilateral series defeat for India in a very long time. However, we should not forget that this team has worked as a pressure absorbing unit for a long time now. Hence, India is expected to make a strong comeback in the series.

KL Rahul has been exceptional with the bat and the gloves and team India’s experiment of sending him lower down the order has also proved to be fruitful for the men in blue.

The visitors will now look to take a giant leap and level the series when they meet the hosts for the second game at Eden Park in Auckland on February 08.

Date and venue: February 08th, 2020, 07:30 am IST, Eden Park, Auckland.

New Zealand vs India 2020 – Playing Combinations:

India:

Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal gave a solid start to team India in the first ODI. They might be continued in the second game too. Shreyas Iyer’s maiden ODI hundred in the first game has sealed a spot for him at the number four position. Rahul has become the first choice wicketkeeper-batsman and will remain so in the coming time.

Navdeep Saini might be given a chance in the second ODI. His death bowling has been exceptional. Also, the team management might go with Chahal this time as Kuldeep proved to be very expensive in the first game.

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

New Zealand:

The Kiwis might go with an unchanged squad in the second game. They might want to continue the winning squad to give them confidence. The only change that we will witness is Ish Sodhi being unavailable for the game and Kyle Jamieson seems the favourite to replace him. Interim captain Tom Latham was clear after the first game that his bowlers need to do well in further games. Ross Taylor’s century has come as a great relief for the Kiwis.

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

New Zealand vs India: Head to Head –

Played – 108

New Zealand won – 47

India won – 55

Tied- 1

No Result- 5

New Zealand vs India 2020: Match Prediction –

Team India have suffered a shocking defeat against the hosts. They will definitely look to bounce back in the second game. India will go ahead with a much more disciplined bowling attack in this game.

New Zealand, on the other hand, will look to take advantage of the first win in the series and will eye a series win in the second game. They will want to remove the tag of the new ‘Chokers’ of world cricket and assert their domination on the field.

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