New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl in the second ODI against India at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot. The match is part of the three-game ODI series, with India holding a 1-0 lead after winning the opener. A victory today would help the hosts seal the series, while New Zealand will be keen to bounce back and keep the contest alive.
Both India captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer are coming off recent injury scares. Gill, who was ruled out of the T20I squad, will be eager to prove his mettle after scoring 56 runs off 71 balls in the first ODI. Iyer, meanwhile, returned to action after a long layoff following a spleen injury in October last year and made a 49 off 47 balls contribution in the series opener.
Iyer will also be eyeing a major milestone today. He needs just 34 runs to become the fastest Indian batter to reach 3,000 ODI runs, a record currently held by Shikhar Dhawan, who achieved the feat in 72 innings.
It remains to be seen whether ODI stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play starring roles in the second ODI. Kohli will be chasing his 54th ODI century, while Rohit is 61 runs away from completing 14,000 List A runs.
Gill and Rohit Sharma will open the batting for India in today’s match.
The match is being played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, a venue known for its batting-friendly surface. The pitch is expected to assist batters early, with bowlers likely to rely on variations as the game progresses. While teams often prefer batting first at this venue to put runs on the board, the New Zealand captain, Michael Bracewell, has decided to go against the stats and opted to bowl first. His decision could be due to the possibility that dew later in the day could influence the match direction.
As per former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull, who is part of the commentary team, expressed his disappointment with New Zealand’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss, suggesting it could prove costly.
“I am not happy with the call. I think New Zealand should’ve made the most of it and must’ve batted first.”
Both sides will be eager to deliver a strong performance, with India aiming to clinch the series and New Zealand looking to stay alive ahead of the decider.
The fans can watch the India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI live match on the Star Sports Network and the JioHotstar app.
India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI: Playing XIs
New Zealand:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
India:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.