New Zealand vs India 2020: India's ideal XI for the 1st ODI in Hamilton
The 3-match ODI series between New Zealand and India is set to commence this Wednesday. India will enter the ODI series with high confidence levels as they comprehensively defeated the Kiwis in the T20I series. Rohit Sharma is set to miss the ODI series due to the injury he suffered during the 5th T20I match. Mayank Agarwal has been named as his replacement in the squad.
Virat Kohli's men will be looking to continue their winning streak when they face New Zealand in the first ODI tomorrow at Seddon Park, Hamilton. Historically, the pitch at this venue has always been favourable to batsmen, so expect a high-scoring thriller.
India will in all likelihood go in with two debutants as their openers in this match. Both the regular openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are unavailable due to injury issues. Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw will look to capitalise on this unfortunate situation and score heavily in the upcoming series. Both of them are naturally aggressive stroke players so some fireworks are to be expected if they get going during the first 10 overs. Virat Kohli will play at his usual number 3 position from where he will look to anchor the innings.
Shreyas Iyer will look to continue his good form in ODIs and provide solidity in the middle order. KL Rahul will play the role of providing impetus and the X-factor in this XI. The team management will expect some consistent performances from him at the number 5 spot. He will also double up as the team's primary wicket-keeper. Manish Pandey will be the finisher in this team. Pandey showed a lot of composure and calmness while finishing games in recent times. He will look to perform his role consistently and cement his place in the ODI side.
On the bowling front, the team management will not make any major changes as the bowling unit has been performing consistently in recent times. Jasprit Bumrah will continue to spearhead the attack. Mohammad Shami and Navdeep Saini will round off the pace bowling department.
Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav will handle the spin bowling department. Kuldeep Yadav had a decent series with the ball against Australia so Chahal will have to continue to wait for his turn. Jadeja's all-round ability makes him an indispensable part of the playing XI. It is a short series and the newbies who will debut in Hamilton are likely to be given a proper chance to showcase their talents.
Ideal XI: Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini
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