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India vs New Zealand, 2nd ODI: Likely XI for MS Dhoni and co.

India have had a fruitful time so far against New Zealand as they won the Test series 3-0 against he touring party to claim the No. 1 spot as well as the first ODI.

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India, having won the first ODI with ease, have the upper hand © AFP

A dominant Indian side is all set to face the visitors New Zealand in the second One-Day International (ODI) of the ongoing tour. The match is scheduled to be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi. India have the advantage as they have won the first of the five ODIs to be played between the teams. India have had a fruitful time so far against New Zealand as they won the Test series 3-0 against the touring party to claim the No. 1 spot while the first ODI was totally under India’s control and they snatched the match away easily from their opponents. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs New Zealand, 1st ODI at Dharamsala

New Zealand have found it hard to survive the challenges posted by Indian side in form of spin bowling. In the Test series, they had missed the services of a few regular members of the squad which resulted in a dismal show by the side with the bat. Very few Kiwi batsmen have managed to survive at the crease for long. The scenario was the same in the first ODI as well, as the entire batting line-up failed to perform. Tom Latham was one name who played a standout innings and remained unbeaten till the end scoring 79 crucial runs. A major help came from Tim Southee in form of a 45-ball 55 towards the end.

India’s batting has been good and just like the Tests. One batsman who has continued scoring is Virat Kohli. While Rahane did decently with the bat opening the innings, it was Kohli’s unbeaten 85 that took his team to victory with 16.5 overs still remaining. Hardik Pandya had a dream debut in ODIs as he bagged three wickets and contributed majorly in ending New Zealand’s innings soon with below the par total. Among the other names were veteran Amit Mishra and Kedar Jadhav who together made it hard for New Zealand players to bat comfortably. Umesh Yadav produced stellar performances as he claimed two wickets, and took two catches, helping India dismantle the Kiwis’ top order. However, he was the one to drop Southee when he was batting at 2, and the Kiwi batsman went on to notch up his first half-century.

India will head confidently into the second ODI at Delhi, where they have not lost a lost a single ODI in the past decade. Another win from here will put India on top of the tour while a victory is highly needed for New Zealand to regain their lost confidence. Before the match starts, here is the likely XI that skipper MS Dhoni may want to take the field with.

Top-order: Indian batting line-up is currently among the strongest in the world, especially in the limited-overs format and it all starts from the top-order itself. The team is all likely to retain the pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma to open the innings. Rahane played really well in the Test series and his 33 was a decent contribution towards India’s successful chase in the first ODI. On the other hand is Rohit who missed out on scoring centuries at least twice in the Test series. The New Zealand team must be low in confidence after their performance so far and Rohit must make full use of all the conditions in favour and score a mammoth like he has done earlier.

At No. 3 is a player for who is getting better with every passing day. Kohli, currently the brightest star of the star-studded Indian batting line-up, has proved time and again why he is one of the best cricketers of this generation. He makes his presence felt at the ground with batting and fielding and is one of the most consistent run-getters of recent time. This series, like the others recently, has been Kohli’s chance to play big knocks and he is sure to give the Kotla crowd an opportunity to witness his magic with the bat. With these three big names concentrated at the top, the ones who have to worry about are the New Zealand bowlers.

Middle-order: Following Kohli, comes out Manish Pandey with a major responsibility upon his shoulders of creating the bridge between the heavy top and middle-order of Indian batting line-up. While Pandey can hit the maximum when needed, he can also turn into a calm-headed middle-order batsman who can build an innings. At No. 5, it is time for wicketkeeper-skipper MS Dhoni to come out. Though it was a rare occasion of him getting run out for 21 in the first ODI, the player is one of the quickest between the stumps, one of the finest finishers of the game and a tactical player which proves why he is among the most successful captains. Dhoni’s sixes are famous and so are his singles and that proves the Indian batting line-up is filled with players capable of staying longer at the crease and simultaneously hit hard.

Following Dhoni, comes young and energetic Pandya to bat. Pandya will majorly play the role of a slog-hitter in the line up for those quick runs towards the end. The style suits Pandya, who is yet to get full hold of his nerves and tone down his excitement on field. Apart from him, there are the likes of Akshar Patel and Jadhav who are in the team as bowling all-rounders.

Bowling: India’s bowling has been phenomenal in the first ODI and that is one of the biggest reasons behind India’s success in the match. The team has a balanced bowling attack with both young and experienced players. There also is the balance between the pacers and spinners as both have done justice to the role they were expected to play. Among the experienced come Yadav who has been producing early breakthroughs for India consistently now and is a good fielder as well. With him, there is young Jasprit Bumrah and of course, the star of the first ODI, Pandya who complete the fast bowling. Mishra plays as the most experienced spinner while he finds with him Jadhav and Akshar.

India likely XI: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Akshar Patel, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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