India eye a winning start to the ODI series with one eye on the 2023 ODI World Cup

After a successful campaign in the T20I series against New Zealand, Team India will be locking horns with the Kiwis in the ODIs, an affair that would rekindle the infamous past of 2020 where the Men in Blue suffered a 3-0 loss in the ODIs the last time around.

India will be without the likes of their star batters namely Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. However, with fresh faces in the fold, the Men in Blue will be geared up to dish out an impeccable performance that would issue a strong statement ahead of the upcoming World Cup in 2023. As Dhawan returns as the Indian skipper, he will be a major lookout considering the opening options that India will be desperate to try out ahead of the showpiece event.

There will also be eyes on India’s middle order in the ODIs which has somehow failed to produce the desired consistency that is usually expected from a stalwart of the sport. At times they have been in superlative touch while there have been occasional collapses too.

New Zealand are a fine side in the ODI format of the game and as the likes of Kane Williamson lead them in the prized series, they will be hoping to avenge their earlier defeat back in India in the preceding year followed by the T20I series loss.

Finn Allen continues to be a possible X-factor in the Kiwi ranks, given his recent dynamic form. Despite failing to strike the right chord in the T20I series, he will always be a potential peril to the Indian ranks, considering his devil-may-care attitude and the fearlessness that he bats with.

However, the major strength that the Kiwis will be riding high upon is their pace quartet of Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee and Matt Henry. The kind of surfaces that New Zealand has produced over the years is usually infamous for some lateral movement and these four bowlers can start a catastrophe if they get going.

Venue Watch:

Eden Park is generally known for its sluggish nature and has so far hosted 79 ODIs. 30 of them have been won batting first while 44 of the remaining contests have been secured by chasing. The average first innings score here is 220 while the average second innings score drops to 195, thereby signifying the possible menace that the batters may be up against.

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 110

India: 55

New Zealand: 49

Match Details:

India vs New Zealand

Eden Park

25th November 2022

7:00 AM IST

Squads:

India:

Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Umran Malik

New Zealand:

Kane Williamson (Captain), Michael Bracewell, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Tim Southee