India vs NZ 2020: 1st ODI Stats Preview and Predicted Playing 11

India vs NZ 2020: Team India look to continue the momentum in the ODI series as we look at the stats preview, and the predicted playing 11 for the first ODI.

“Please Note: Virat Kohli has confirmed that Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw would open in the first ODI, and KL Rahul would plat at 5”. Hence, the following article has been updated accordingly.

MATCH DETAILS: 

Occasion	First ODI, India vs New Zealand
Location	Hamilton
Date & Time	Wednesday, 5th February, 2020, 7:30 am

INDIA VS NZ FIRST ODI STATS PREVIEW 

Having had a mediocre record against the Kiwis in T20Is in which India registered just 3 wins before this series, Team India came back stronger and harder to register a blockbuster series win by whitewashing the Kiwis 5-0. 

In ODIs, however, India are better off as compared to New Zealand with a better win to loss ratio. In the 107 matches played against New Zealand, Team India have 55 wins, while New Zealand have 46 wins with other 6 matches being tied or ended as a no result.

Team India also lead most of the records in the batting and bowling departments in ODIs with Sachin Tendulkar leading most of the records in the batting department, while Kris Srikkanth leading the records in the bowling department. 

Meanwhile, as if Shikhar Dhawan’s injury was not enough, Rohit Sharma too suffered an injury. This leaves Team India without their primary openers for the ODI series. The onus would now be on KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw or Mayank Agarwal to give quick starts. 

Team India would also want to continue the momentum, and would want to make it 3-0 in the ODI series too. New Zealand, meanwhile, would want to bring life to the series by being more competitive, and a little bit of luck on their side. 

STATS PREVIEW | INDIA VS NEW ZEALAND ODIS

Overall Matches Played: 107

India: 55 Wins || New Zealand: 46 Wins || Tied: 1 || NR: 5

BATTING: 

1750- Most Runs by Sachin Tendulkar (IND)

73.7- Best Batting Average (Min 5 inns and 250 runs) by Gautam Gambhir (IND)

110.5- Highest Strike Rate (Min 5 inns and 250 runs) by Suresh Raina (IND)

186*(150)- Highest Score by Sachin Tendulkar (IND)

6– Most Centuries Scores by Virender Sehwag (IND)

8– Most Fifties by Stephen Fleming (NZ)

206- Most Fours by Sachin Tendulkar (IND)

26– Most Sixes by Sachin Tendulkar (IND)

5– Most Ducks by Brendon Mccullum (NZ) and Dilip Vengsarkar (IND)

BOWLING: 

51- Most Wickets by Javagal Srinath (IND)

8.6- Best Bowling Average (Min 5 inns and 10 wickets) by Kris Srikkanth (NZ)

2.9- Lowest Economy Rate (Min 5 inns and 10 wickets) by Dilip Doshi (IND)

12- Lowest Bowling Strike Rate (Min 5 inns and 3 wickets) by Kris Srikkanth (NZ)

6/19- Best Bowling figures by Shane Bond (NZ)

EXPECTED PLAYING 11- TEAM INDIA

Openers:

Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal

Virat Kohli confirmed in the afternoon of February 4^th that Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal would open in the first ODI, and KL Rahul would play at 5. That means India would be exposing the inexperienced duo of Shaw and Mayank at the top in New Zealand conditions. It would be very interesting to see how they really respond as there is no doubt on their capabilities. 

Middle-order:

Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), and Manish Pandey. 

Virat Kohli has emphasized that he wants to give KL Rahul as much game time as possible in the middle-order to get him accustomed to the role. That means KL Rahul would continue donning the wicket-keeping duties, and play at 5 as we had seen in the Australia series. 

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant would continue being on the sidelines, and would play the role of a backup keeper-batsman. Virat Kohli at 3, Shreyas Iyer at 4, and Manish Pandey at 6 would complete the rest of the batting line-up. 

All-rounders and Bowlers:

Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shardul Thakur

Ravindra Jadeja should act as the sole all-rounder for Team India, and would play at number 6. In the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t impressed with his bowling in the last few matches, and was replaced by Yuzvendra Chahal in the T20Is. Given Chahal’s marginal success, he should continue as Team India’s primary spinner. 

Jasprit Bumrah would lead the pace attack along with Mohammed Shami. The third pacer might see a tough fight between Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini. However, given Shardul’s success as a bowler in the T20I series along with his batting capabilities, Shardul should play as the third pacer for Team India. 

So, that completes the predicted playing 11 for Team India for the first ODI between India and New Zealand. Here’s the consolidated line-up for both the teams. 

India vs NZ First ODI Predicted Playing 11 for Team India:

Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Jasprit Bumrah.

India vs NZ First ODI Predicted Playing 11 for New Zealand: 

Martin Guptill, Henry Nichols, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (WK), Tom Blundell, Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, and Scott Kuggeleijn. 

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