India vs New Zealand 1st ODI: Top player battles to look forward to at McLean Park in Napier

After a very successful tour of Australia, the Indian team will look to continue their form in the five-match ODI series in New Zealand. Even though India beat Australia in their backyard, they will have to be wary of the Kiwis, as they will be a much more competitive side compared to the Aussies.

Here are five key player battles to look out for in the first ODI.

1) Rohit Sharma vs Tim Southee

Rohit Sharma has been in tremendous form in the limited-overs matches in the last one year. He has scored an ODI century in South Africa, England and Australia. However, in New Zealand, the opening batsman will be up against Tim Southee, who has the best record against the Indian top order since 2013. He has dismissed Rohit Sharma five times in 14 matches. The Mumbai batsman’s strike-rate and dot balls percentage against Southee are worse than Dhawan and Kohli. Rohit has a strike-rate of 67.88 and dot ball percentage of 66.42.

Also Read: India vs New Zealand, 1st ODI Live Cricket Score in Napier

2) Virat Kohli vs Trent Boult

Wherever the Indian team travels, Virat Kohli is always the most prized wicket for the opposition and even this time, it’s going to be no different. The Indian captain has a good record in New Zealand with 291 runs in five ODIs. He has scored a century and two fifties. The biggest threat for him in the New Zealand bowling line-up will be Trent Boult. Kohli has always shown a weakness of nicking the ball behind the stumps when there is swing available for the bowlers. The left-arm pacer Boult can trouble Kohli with out-swing and in-swing. He can pitch the ball on the right line and length consistently.

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3) MS Dhoni vs Ish Sodhi

MS Dhoni has struck form at the right time for the Indian team. With three half-centuries, the wicketkeeper-batsman helped India win their first-ever bilateral ODI series in Australia. It’s very clear that MS Dhoni will anchor the innings during the middle overs and then look to finish with big hits in the final overs. Dhoni has a liking for spinners and Ish Sodhi will certainly be in his radar. Dhoni has never been dismissed to Sodhi in ODIs, but has a meager strike-rate of 63.64 against the bowler. It will be interesting to see how Dhoni tackles Sodhi in this series.

4) Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Martin Guptill

Bhuvneshwar Kumar found rhythm in the three-match ODI series against Australia. He picked up eight wickets in the series, providing key breakthroughs for the team. However, the speedster doesn’t have a great record in New Zealand. He has taken 4 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 59.75. He will be certainly looking to better his record and in his radar will be an opening batsman. Bhuvneshwar is lethal with the new ball and could trouble Martin Guptill with the ball coming into him. Bhuvneshwar dismissed Aaron Finch in each of the ODIs in Australia and the fast bowler could set his eyes on Guptill, since he is a right-hand batsman as well.

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5) Mohammed Shami vs Kane Williamson

Mohammed Shami carried forward his Test form into the ODI series in Australia. He bowled economical spells and also picked up crucial wickets for the team. The fast bowler can bowl on tight line and lengths throughout the innings and if New Zealand’s best batsman Kane Williamson gets going, then Shami can contain runs and also pick up the wicket of the skipper if he loses his concentration and plays a poor shot against the disciplined bowling by the fast bowler.