New Zealand won the toss and decided to bowl first against India in the fourth One-Day International at Seddon Park, Hamilton.
Here is what the captains said:
Kane Williamson:
“We will bowl first. Looks like a good surface, hopefully, some dew will come later. The stats suggest it’s a chasing ground, we need to take some early wickets. Few changes for us, Southee, Munro and Ferguson are missing out, Nicholls is opening with Guptill. It’s a great opportunity for the lads at the top of the order. We need to keep improving as a squad, focus on areas and game plan.”
Proud moment for young @RealShubmanGill as he receives his #TeamIndia cap from @msdhoni ?? #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/2oRc4ozwZq
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 31, 2019
Rohit Sharma:
“It’s been special (200th ODI). Long journey, plenty of ups and down. Couple of changes, Shubman Gill replaces Kohli, Khaleel Ahmed replaces Shami. MS is still not fit. He has shown a lot of promise (Gill), he has played here and was the Man of the Series in the U-19 World Cup. Highly rated and we wanted to see what he could offer to the team. We would have batted first anyway, the motivation is high and it’s important to give your best when you wear the India colours. ”
Preview:
Given India’s struggles in New Zealand on their last tour where they had lost the ODIs 4-0 and the hosts recent domination at home, a very tight series was expected. Prior to the ongoing series, New Zealand had lost just two ODI since losing to South Africa in 2014-15 at home. However, all the past form and formidable record at home went for a toss as India once again showed why they are one of the best ODI sides in the world at the moment. While loss is definitely a part and parcel of the game, it is the nature of the losses that would have given the New Zealand team-management a lot to worry about.
Not even once in the first three ODIs did New Zealand manage to cause any sort of trouble for India as the visitors easily won all the games to take an unassailable 3-0 lead. So while New Zealand will be desperately seeking to get back to winning ways, India will have the luxury to try out their benched players in the remaining games.
Playing elevens:
India:
Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, K Khaleel Ahmed
New Zealand:
Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle, Matt Henry, Trent Boult