Billie Jean King Cup :India lose to New Zealand to remain in Group I
With the loss, India finished third in Asia/Oceania Group I with three wins and two defeats.
India will be high on confidence ahead of the One Day International (ODI) series opener at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday, especially after whitewashing New Zealand in the five-match Twenty-20 International (T20I) series.
Unlike the T20I assignment, the ODI series holds little importance in the present context. And Indian captain Virat Kohli has already said that they will not treat the upcoming series as a preparatory platform for the T20 World Cup to be held later this year in Australia.
For New Zealand, three-match series is an opportunity for them to regain the lost glory after the embarrassment in the shortest format. What was more disappointing from the Blackcaps was that they lost the last three matches despite being on the top for the maximum period of the matches.
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IND vs NZ, 1st ODI: Pitch Report
The venue which hosted the third T20I between India and New Zealand, Seddon Park is not the most batting-friendly track out there but anything less than 250 will be tough to defend.
Also, one must remember it gets slower at the end of the day as it happened in the T20I and forced New Zealand into a super-over loss from winning position. The average first-innings score at the ground is 233.
IND vs NZ, 1st ODI: Weather Report
Much to the relief of the fans, there is no prediction of rain in Hamilton throughout the day and one can expect a bright sunny setting during the first innings of the match. The temperature is expected to hover around 24-18 degree Celcius.
Dew might a little factor in the second innings and unlike the matches in Wellington or Mount Maunganui, wind in Hamilton will not have many roles to play.
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