Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey

New Zealand vs India 1st ODI Preview Dream11

Number two in the world rankings takes on number three. Two sides widely expected to be in the top four come World Cup Semi Final time, and this series promises to be an absolute beauty.

No side in world cricket has a better record at home since the 2015 World Cup than New Zealand. With a fine balance of power and panache, the Black Caps possess a side than can certainly give a strong India side a run for their money. Their top four is as dangerous as any side in the world, and they have the chance to flex their muscle at home against strong opposition. Can New Zealand make a big statement early in the series?

India, in a World Cup year, will be looking for a much better ODI series than their last visit to New Zealand. They have an opportunity to show how far they have come as a team since the 4-0 drubbing in 2014, and will need to play a little better than they did at times in their very recent series against Australia. Just as New Zealand have the chance to lay down a marker, so do India, with a superb shootout between two fine teams on the cards. Will India kick off their tour with a win?

Key to a New Zealand win

Most of New Zealand’s top four and Henry Nicholls were too strong for Sri Lanka recently, but they will face a bigger challenge this time around. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami will sure be a challenge at the top for New Zealand’s openers, and whether Munro and Guptill can fare better than Aaron Finch and Alex Carey did for Australia will be key. With Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, who is arguably in career best form, to follow, New Zealand have the resources to set a fine platform for the middle order to launch. However, Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls are likely to occupy numbers five and six respectively, so their ability to either take advantage of the top order’s work or rebuild will be crucial. Will they be able to score quickly at will if need be?

Also, New Zealand’s bowling at times against Sri Lanka left a little to be desired. India possess the best top three in the world, so the onus is on Trent Boult and Tim Southee (if picked) to get New Zealand off to a strong start. As Australia found, dismissing at least two of India’s top three relatively cheaply puts you right in the game, and with India’s middle order still under the microscope, New Zealand will be best served challenging them as soon as possible. Can the likes of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner also work effectively as a unit to keep the pressure on India in the crucial middle overs? Also, can New Zealand improve on their displays at the death? A challenging, but exciting test awaits.

Key to an India win

MS Dhoni’s excellent series in Australia would have given all associated with India plenty of encouragement. There is little doubt that India’s top three will be vital again, given they have contributed to 52% of the team’s runs in all ODIs since the World Cup in 2015, but how well India play as a unit will be key. Rohit Sharma will be out to improve his record against New Zealand, and Shikhar Dhawan his form of late. The battle between the two opening pairs could be key to the result, as the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik would benefit significantly from a strong start. With all four of these players showing excellent form in the recent series against Australia, India will be hoping to really fine tune their batting lineup ahead of the World Cup.

With the ball, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami will be key for India. They were superb in the Australia series, taking 13 wickets between them, placing significant pressure on Australia’s openers. Virat Kohli would love to target Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor as early as possible, which can set up the middle overs period nicely for India, possibly giving them a shot at New Zealand’s middle order with no real platform set. The performance of India’s spinners will be crucial to building further pressure on New Zealand, and if the Indians can keep things tight on Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham as they look to launch, it can go a long way to victory.

Possible Playing 11

Tom Latham returns after being rested for the Sri Lanka series, and will slot in the middle order. With Jimmy Neesham still injured, Mitchell Santner will occupy the main allrounder slot.

New Zealand Possible Playing 11: 1. Martin Guptill, 2. Colin Munro, 3. Kane Williamson (c), 4. Ross Taylor, 5. Tom Latham (wk), 6. Henry Nicholls, 7. Mitchell Santner, 8. Doug Bracewell/Lockie Ferguson, 9. Tim Southee, 10. Ish Sodhi, 11. Trent Boult

For India, the big question will be who makes up the final spot in their bowling attack. Ravindra Jadeja’s ability to take wickets in New Zealand conditions comes into question, with Kuldeep Yadav or Khaleel Ahmed in line for a game.

India Possible Playing 11: 1. Rohit Sharma, 2. Shikhar Dhawan, 3. Virat Kohli (c), 4. MS Dhoni (wk), 5. Kedar Jadhav, 6. Dinesh Karthik, 7. Vijay Shankar, 8. Ravindra Jadeja/Kuldeep Yadav, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. Mohammed Shami, 11. Yuzvendra Chahal

Dream11 Prediction

• MS Dhoni has an absolutely outstanding record in New Zealand, and is coming off a big performance in Australia, where he scored three straight fifties. In New Zealand, Dhoni has 541 runs at 90. At McLean Park in Napier, Dhoni has 124 runs in two matches, including 84*.
• Ross Taylor is second only to Virat Kohli since World Cup 2015. In his last 12 innings, he has been dismissed for less than 50 just twice.
• Shikhar Dhawan has an ordinary record against New Zealand, scoring just 172 runs in seven matches at 24.57. The same applies to Martin Guptill against India, averaging less than 30 in 26 games.
• Rohit Sharma has got out to Tim Southee five times in ODIs, but he is in good touch.
• Virat Kohli has played one ODI at McLean Park, scoring 123. He has a superb record against New Zealand, scoring 1,154 runs at 73.
• Kedar Jadhav offers plenty for India with both bat and ball. He is coming off a fine 61* against Australia.
• Yuzvendra Chahal is coming off six wickets against Australia, and even though Napier is expected to turn less, Chahal is capable of middle order wickets.
• Doug Bracewell is a chance of playing giving his all-round abilities.
• Tim Southee has an awful record at McLean Park, taking just five wickets in nine ODIs at an average of 97.20.

Stats and Facts

• New Zealand beat India 4-0 in 2014.
• New Zealand have the best home record of any side at home since World Cup 2015 (75% win rate).
• Shikhar Dhawan needs 10 runs to become the 13th Indian player to reach 5,000 in ODIs.
• Mohammed Shami needs one wicket to reach 100 in ODIs.
• Ross Taylor’s dot ball percentage of 43.2% is the lowest of any batsman since beginning of 2018. His last six ODI scores read: 181*, 80, 86*, 54 and 137. If he gets a fifty in this game, he will become the second player in history to get seven fifty-plus scores in ODIs.

Match Prediction

What a match this promises to be.

Two good sides makes this one a tough pick, but on the back of excellent performances from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, New Zealand might take this one out in a close match.

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