IND vs NZ 2nd ODI, Pitch and Weather Report: Rain to play spoilsport in Mount Maunganui?
The Virat Kohli-led team India will definitely be looking to avert the embarrassment of a series whitewash in the final ODI in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday.
Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. (Photo: Twitter/@BayOvalOfficial)
Going into the One Day International (ODI) series, India were high on confidence after whitewashing New Zealand in the five-match Twenty-20 International (T20I) series.
But back-to-back defeats in the three-match series have brought the Virat Kohli-led side back to the reality. And they will be hoping to get back to the winning track in the last outing at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.
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Though Virat Kohli has said that the ODIs in this calendar year, which will have T20 World Cup later and is also a part of the two-year-long World Test Championship, he will definitely be looking to avert the embarrassment of a series whitewash.
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For New Zealand, three-match series was an opportunity for them to regain the lost glory after the humiliation in the shortest format. And they seem to have done exactly the same by outnumbering India in all departments.
IND vs NZ 2nd ODI: Pitch Report
The last match played at the Bay Oval was a T20I between the two same sides and the track had been on the slower side that day. Overall, the wicket in Mount Maunganui is batting friendly and one can expect a high scoring 50-overs contest.
IND vs NZ 2nd ODI: Weather Report
Much to the relief of the fans, there is no forecast of rain in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday. The entire day is expected to be graced by bright sunshine and clear skies.
Daily weather updates of Mount Maunganui on Tuesday. (Screengrab from Accuweather)
The temperature is likely to hover around 24-19 degree Celcius with very little or no wind all. The dew factor won’t play an influential role on a day which can have the humidity of 82 per cent.
Despite having already sealed the series 3-1, India were in experimental mode in the fourth T20I at Visakhapatnam. The team opted to play five specialist bowlers, keeping all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube out of the bowling plans.
Guwahati has been confirmed as one of the venues for the India–New Zealand white-ball series early next year, and will host a T20I as part of the eight-match limited-overs series.
Twelve years of waiting, a campaign built on resilience, and one final hurdle against a team that has so often been India’s Achilles' heel—the New Zealand challenge. The stakes couldn’t be higher as Rohit Sharma’s men step onto the field at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, seeking to reclaim the ICC Champions Trophy and rewrite history.