Series win in sight at Rajkot for India (Image Credit:- X)
After beating New Zealand by six wickets in the first ODI, India eye another win at Rajkot to seal the series. The inexperienced Kiwis put up a strong fight in the first ODI, taking the contest deep before eventually falling short.
Once again, all eyes will be on Rohit and Kohli, with a packed crowd expected for the contest. Kohli played a match-winning knock in the first ODI, narrowly missing out on a century by just seven runs. India struggled in the chase after his dismissal, but eventually Harshit Rana and K.L.Rahul helped the hosts cross the line.
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In the series opener, Rohit Sharma on the other scored 26 runs off 29 balls. Captain Shubman Gill’s return to form was one of the biggest positives for India.
India face a blow as all rounder Washington Sundar is ruled out with rib injury, Ayush Badoni named replacement.
New Zealand will look to rectify their mistakes and bounce back strongly in the series. Openers Conway and Nicholls gave them a strong start but failed to capitalize on the platform provided. Had they added another 25 runs, the result of the first ODI could have been different.
Team News
A change is forced for India as Washington Sundar is ruled out of the series due to injury. Pace bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is expected to come in as his replacement.
India Probable XI:- Shubman Gill (c) , Rohit Sharma , Virat Kohli , Shreyas Iyer , K.L.Rahul (wk) , Ravindra Jadeja , Nitish Kumar Reddy , Harshit Rana , Kuldeep Yadhav , Prasidh Krishna , Mohammed Siraj.
Even though Kiwis lost the first ODI and batters fell short by 20-25 runs, no change is expected in the playing XI.
New Zealand Probable XI:- Devon Conway , Henry Nicholls , Will Young , Daryl Mitchell , Glenn Phillips , Mitchell Hay , Michael Bracewell (c) , Zak Foulkes , Kristan Clarke , Kyle Jamieson , Adithya Ashok.
Pitch Report
Another batting friendly pitch is expected, with the average first innings score crossing 300. Team batted first won all four ODIs played at this venue.
Time
Match will begin at 01:30 PM (IST).