After a thrilling five-match T20I series, India and New Zealand are all set to lock horns in five ODIs. The opening encounter of the rubber will be held at Eden Park on Wednesday, November 4.
The series will be important for both teams as they build towards next year’s World Cup in South Africa. India will be without Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who are two of their most important players in the 50-over format. New Zealand will have their fair share of absences as well, with the likes of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra being among those missing out.
India generally start as the favorites in any white-ball bilateral series, but New Zealand are an excellent team in the ODI format. The Black Caps cannot be counted out.
India’s squad for the New Zealand ODIs: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan.
New Zealand’s squad for the India ODIs: Mitchell Santner (c), Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith, Matt Fisher, Blair Tickner, Tim Seifert, Kyle Jamieson.
NZ vs IND 2026: India start as narrow favorites against consistent New Zealand
India’s bowling attack looks a bit thin, particularly for conditions at Eden Park. Without Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, the Men in Blue may have to rely on their sixth bowler to give them valuable overs across phases. Even Prasidh Krishna, who has been one of the team’s biggest wicket threats, won’t be seen in action.
India may go in without Kuldeep Yadav, as they did for a part of their previous ODI series against the West Indies. If they do that, New Zealand may be able to score freely in the middle overs and use their knowledge of home conditions to great effect. In fact, even if Kuldeep plays, the likes of Daryl Mitchell have experienced success against him.
That said, however, New Zealand arguably don’t have enough might in the batting department at the moment. Without Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, they may not have the X-factor needed to unsettle the visiting bowlers. And the hosts’ bowling attack is missing a couple of key names as well.
Anything can happen in this contest, which features two evenly matched teams. India will perhaps start as the marginal favorites due to their prolific top five.
Prediction: India to win the 1st ODI against New Zealand.
Looking for fast live cricket scores? Download CricRocket and get fast score updates, top-notch commentary in-depth match stats & much more! 🚀☄️
Edited by Sai Krishna
