India vs New Zealand LIVE Updates, 1st ODI: The focus will be on the veteran duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as India take on New Zealand in a five-match ODI series, beginning today at Eden Park, Auckland. India’s relatively inexperienced bowling attack gives the Blackcaps an edge heading into the series. With Jasprit Bumrah being preserved for the Test matches and the duo of Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana still a few weeks away from an international return, workhorse Mohammed Siraj will have to shoulder additional responsibility during the series. Skipper Shubman Gill will also miss the last two ODIs to focus on the Test series. ( LIVE Scorecard )
India will not be at full strength due to the World Test Championship fixtures scheduled shortly after the fifth and final ODI in Tauranga. The visitors enter the series after registering a 3-2 victory in the T20Is. The series concludes on November 15, while the first Test begins in Wellington on November 19.
Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj are expected to form India’s pace trio in the ODI series opener, while Nitish Kumar Reddy is also likely to make the cut. However, head coach Gautam Gambhir’s preferences would become clearer as he picks two players between Kuldeep Yadav, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel and Auqib Nabi, who even troubled Virat Kohli in the nets. Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the opening one-day international between India and New Zealand at Auckland. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s return does add another layer of excitement to this enthralling series, but there remain a few talking points as far as the batting order is concerned. Would India give Kuldeep Yadav, who didn’t feature in a single T20I, an opportunity or would a bowler be sacrificed to for a lengthy batting order again? We’ll soon find out…
