India vs New Zealand 2019: Following the lop-sided encounter at the McLean Park in Napier, we could expect if not thrilling, but a competitive battle between hosts New Zealand and visitors India at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on January 26 (Saturday).
Meanwhile, the Men in Blue are brimming with confidence following a classic show in the opener of the five-match One-day International (ODI) series.
However, the Kiwis are desperate to make a strong comeback in a bid to level the series. And, it would be intriguing to see what their explosive openers; Martin Guptill and Colin Munro could offer owing to the start of the proceedings for the Black Caps.
Commitment and courage to deliver in a big situation:
Eventually, the excitement level is high in the Indian camp—to continue their domination in the 50-over cricket. But, at the same time, the Men in Blue are wary of the Black Caps potential when they are playing at home.
Ross Taylor would be a key figure for the Kiwis. Meanwhile, Henry Nicholls has a lot at stake ahead of the 2019 World Cup.
Moreover, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has shown yet again what he is best at, and he applied the same in the run chase, although it was a meagre target to overhaul.
The batting giant Virat Kohli is in a rich vein of form, so as, the fulcrum of the team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
For Kiwis, their skipper Kane Williamson was the bright light that shone in Napier apart from the sun outrage that forced officials to revise the target.
However, rest of the batters had no answer whatsoever against Indian bowlers. The hosts would want their batsmen to shoulder responsibility and put up a competitive target to defend for their bowlers.
Besides, Kiwis bowlers looked rusty in Napier, and they would be backing themselves after refining their line and lengths. Again, Trent Boult and Tim Southee would be critical with the new ball.
India vs New Zealand 2019 – spinners could grab the headlines yet again:
Apart from the batting performance, India has had all their bases covered with bowlers rising to the occasion including paceman Mohammed Shami.
So much so, young spinners in the form of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have played an imperative role which serves as an added advantage for the Virat Kohli-led India.
The duo shot into the limelight with their consistent performance in the white-ball cricket.
In the first game, Kuldeep and Chahal snare six wickets in 20 overs after conceding 82 runs. The resounding performance would push them to do a bulk of the job in the impending ODI.
Expected changes in both teams:
The Men in Blue will field the same Napier eleven. However, hosts are expected to bring in all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and prominent spinner Ish Sodhi.
The bowling all-rounder Dough Bracewell may sit out alongside Mitchell Santner, a tough call to be honest.
India vs New Zealand 2019 – Match Preview:
Date and Time: 26th of January 2019, 7:30 AM IST.
Telecast: Star Sports Network (in English and Hindi) including HotStar and Jio TV.
2nd ODI Venue: Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui
Kiwis Track Record: The Black Caps played six matches at the Bay Oval in which they won three and lost as many matches. Interestingly, it will India’s first-ever game across formats at the Bay Oval.
Pitch Conditions: The surface is expected to favour batsmen. However, with Kiwis struggling to pick spinners, watch out for Kuldeep and Chahal. The shorter boundaries at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui would mean more miseries for bowlers of each side.
Weather Conditions: The weather prediction for Saturday’s game is partly cloudy with the temperature hovering around 24-degree Celsius
The humidity would be as high as 64 per cent with precipitation recording 10 per cent. It would be interesting to see how fast bowlers would dictate the terms when the wind would touch 19 kph.
India vs New Zealand 2019 – Line-up:
New Zealand’s Predicted Playing XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson.
India’s Predicted Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Shami.
India vs New Zealand 2-19 – Match Prediction:
While looking at both the squad and how the game panned out, India has plenty of chances to pounce upon at the Bay Oval. I expect they could continue by leading the series 2-0.
However, it is highly-likely going to be a closely fought out contest.
Stats to achieve:
- Virat Kohli is a ton away to equal Virender Sehwag’s record of most tons in ODIs against the Black Caps. So far, he has registered five centuries against the Black Caps.
- MS Dhoni is closing on most runs scored by an Indian against Kiwis. He has scored 541 runs, so far. Sachin Tendulkar leads the chart with 652, whereas, Sehwag follows him with 598 to his name.
- Ravindra Jadeja is ten runs short to complete his 2,000 runs in the ODI circuit. He is three wickets away to eclipse Irfan Pathan’s (173) wickets tally.
- On this particular venue, Martin Guptill is the leading run-getter. He has amassed 319 runs in six matches at the average of 53.19.