India take on New Zealand in the second ODI of the three-match series between the two teams. The game will take place at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday, January 14. India defeated their opponents by four wickets in the first match played at nearby Vadodara. The Men in Blue will arrive with their confidence extremely high. The Kiwis, meanwhile, must regroup quickly to avoid being hammered by their opponents like on Sunday.
For India, the good form enjoyed by Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer is a big positive, but so is the all-round value provided by Harshit Rana. Considered to be a favourite of head coach Gautam Gambhir, the Delhi seamer chipped in with a crucial 29 in the first ODI and provided ample support to KL Rahul and Washington Sundar. Skipper Shubman Gill also came back from a neck injury with a well-built 56, and will be handy at the top of the order.
New Zealand sport a relatively inexperienced playing XI. They must quickly adjust to these conditions. Seamer Kyle Jamieson performed well to pick up four wickets in the first match, but received very little support from his teammates. Openers Henry Nichols and Devon Conway provided their team with a good start, and the experienced Dary Mitchell scored 84. But New Zealand will hope that more of their batters chip in and convert their starts into big scores.
Predicted Lineups
IND: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
NZ: Henry Nicholls, Devon Conway (wk), Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell (c), Kristian Clarke, Zakary Foulkes, Josh Clarkson, Kyle Jamieson, Adhitya Ashok.
Key Players
Shubman Gill (IND): India captain Shubman Gill returned from a neck injury with a half-century in the first ODI and will be expected to carry his good form forward. Gill is one of the classiest batters of his generation and is renowned for playing with a straight bat. He can take on bowlers inside the first powerplay while utilising his timing to good effect.
Kyle Jamieson (NZ): Kyle Jamieson showcased his worth with a four-wicket haul in the first ODI, and he will be expected to lead from the front in Rajkot as well. The lanky seamer’s biggest strength is to get the ball to seam in even after he hits the deck hard. Jamieson is known for getting big wickets, as he showed with the scalps of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja.
Match Prediction
India are in good form, and we expect them to win. NZ are quite inexperienced, and unless their middle-order batters come to the party, they will continue to struggle against the home team. For India, their only weakness lies in the bowling department, where Mohammed Siraj and Rana may be the best options. In spin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have to take up more responsibility. Still, the Indians are much stronger than their opponents.
