The second ODI between New Zealand and India is scheduled to be played today at Rajkot, following an exciting opening match in which India chased an uphill target of 301 runs, and achieved a dramatic four-wicket win with six balls remaining.
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer led the batting for India and both of them played a crucial role in ensuring that their team could score more than 300 which was the target set by New Zealand.
For the second ODI, India has made one change in playing XI. Nitish Kumar Reddy replaces injured Washington Sundar while Ayush Badoni won’t make his ODI debut today. The Indian team comes with a combination of veteran and in-control players, this includes Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna. KL Rahul will continue to act as a wicket keeper.
New Zealand, who set the 301-run target in the first ODI, have also made one interesting addition. Jayden Lennox gets his ODI debut joining Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay, Michael Bracewell, Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke and Kyle Jamieson in the playing XI. Michael Bracewell is the captain and Mitchell Hay is a wicket keeper.
With India winning the first match and New Zealand desperate to bring the score level, the day’s match is bound to be competitive.
The nature of the pitch in Rajkot will generally favour the batsmen and it is more likely that the game will be played in a way which leads to the need for both sides to post or chase big totals.
The fans will be watching out keenly for some special performances, most notably by Virat Kohli, as India attempts to cement its lead in the ongoing series.
Currently, Rohit Sharma has scored 32 runs on 22 balls.
Also read: Tickner stars as New Zealand thrash England to clinch ODI series
