India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI: Preview and Prediction

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Tom Latham smashes 145 in the first ODI and helped the team chase down 307

Yet another blow to the Indian team as they lost 5th consecutive ODI in New Zealand. Without the Indian white-ball pillars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the team managed to score over 300 in the first ODI. But the Kiwi batters made it look like an easy task to accomplish.

Despite losing the match, the Indian team will carry a few positives moving on to the second ODI on Sunday. Fans got to witness three half-centuries from Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and the captain himself, Shikhar Dhawan. 

Washington Sundar gave a tremendous all-round performance, a cameo of 36 with the bat and bowled economically. The young speedster Umran Malik bowled exceptionally and also picked up two wickets.

Both teams are recovering from the heartbreaks of the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, as India lost to England by a massive margin of 10 wickets and the Blackcaps lost to Pakistan. Now, with a 50-over World Cup next year, the Kiwis and the men in blue will look to begin their preparations with a series win.

The Indian team won the T20I series comfortably, and that too in the absence of senior players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. The Kiwis have already dented the hopes of the Indian team after winning the first ODI comfortably. Now the men in blue will look to win the second ODI to stay alive in the series and get some momentum.

The BCCI has made sure that the bench strength of the Indian team remains strong, which is evident with the performances of the youngsters in the last year. With Hardik Pandya on rest for the ODI series, Shikhar Dhawan will have the responsibility to lead this group of youngsters.

In the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, it will be a great opportunity for the players like Umran Malik, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Kuldeep Sen to showcase their talent against a quality opponent like New Zealand. Only Umran got a chance among the three to showcase his talent in the first match, but the management might try the others in the remaining two.

Kane Williamson and the company have been doing great in the 50-format lately, and why won’t they if they have players like Trent Boult, Tim Southee and many more? With Trent Boult missing out on this series, it seemed like the Kiwis will face difficulties in winning the match, but Tom Latham and Kane Williamson made sure they win the game by scoring 145 and 94, respectively.

What have they done so far?

The Indian team has been delivering top performances in white-ball cricket lately. Before coming into the T20 World Cup 2022, the men in blue faced South Africa in a three-match ODI series and won by 2-1 under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan. 

Also, India has ODI series wins against England, West Indies and Zimbabwe in the year 2022. With India hosting the 50-over World Cup next year, they will look to carry on the same momentum going forward. Aren’t the blues known for making comebacks? Well, we will have to wait for the next two games.

On the other hand, the Kiwis have lost to Australia in a bilateral series by 3-0 but have won against West Indies, Ireland and Scotland in recent times. Being the runner-up of the 2019 World Cup, Kane Williamson and co. have to make sure they tick all of the boxes ahead of the big tournament in the upcoming year. 

Now with a win in the first game, they have the momentum they needed and will look to play with the same energy in the second game as well.

Head to Head Record

Both India and New Zealand have played a lot of cricket against each other and are ready to fight again in the three-match bilateral series. In the total of 114 ODI games between these two teams, it is the men in blue who have an upper hand, winning 55 of them. While the Kiwis have managed to win 50 only and would love to have these three games in their bank.

In the last five encounters of these two teams, New Zealand has won four of them, with one game being abandoned. So, the Indian team haven’t won a single game in the last six against the Kiwis.

Key Players

Shreyas Iyer: If one player has been successful in New Zealand in the last few years, it’s Shreyas Iyer. He continues to shine in the first game as well and scored a solid 80-run knock. Iyer has been a consistent performer for the Indian white-ball team for the last four or five years. 

Shreyas Iyer continues to dominate New Zealand conditions

Shreyas Iyer continues to dominate New Zealand conditions 

In 33 ODIs, he has scored 1299 runs with a blistering average of 48. He seems to be in good touch, and the team needs him to perform in the remaining must-win games. With New Zealand being a competitive side, a player like Shreyas knows how to score runs against the toughest opponents.

Tim Southee:  Tim Southee has been consistent for the Kiwis in the last three or four years. Kane Williamson knows how important he is for the team and what value he adds with his swing bowling. 

Even in the second T20I against India, Southee bowled a magnificent over and picked up a hat-trick. Also, in the first ODI, he managed to pick up three wickets and kept India under control.

The Kiwi speedster has played 22 games against India and has 33 wickets under his name, including two four-wicket hauls. He has more responsibility on his shoulders, as his bowling partner, Trent Boult, is on rest, but he would love to add a few more wickets to his name.

Predicted Playing XIs

India: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik

New Zealand: Tom Latham, Finn Allen, Kane Williamson (C), Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson

Prediction

With New Zealand having the home advantage and the conditions being too good for swing bowling, the Kiwis will be having an upper hand over the men in blue. And it is evident from the first ODI, how they dominated and chase down a massive score of 306 in the easiest way possible. 

With a match down, the Indian team will look to do everything they can to win the remaining two games. Shikhar Dhawan-led group might be young but knows how to win games like these.

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