After producing an upset in the series opener of the 3-match ODI series between India and New Zealand in Mumbai, the visitors will be hoping to not lose their form while traveling to Pune for the 2nd ODI. If they manage to win the 2nd ODI, the Blackcaps will force India to lose their first ODI series since 2015.
Ross Taylor played a crucial role in New Zealand’s striking win in the Mumbai ODI. Opener Colin Munro, who found it difficult to face India’s new ball bowlers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, was seen training specifically to tackle knuckle balls and slower ones while senior batsman Taylor spent most of his time sharpening his skills against the spin of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner.
After the first ODI, the only matter of concern for the visitors seems to be the openers, who looked a little unsure despite the 48-run stand. Their fifth bowler’s duties were shared between the two Colins – Munro and de Grandhomme, who gave away runs at more tha 6 runs per over. As a result, the tourists might go for another spinner in the squad as Ish Sodhi might come in for Adam Milne, as the last time Pune hosted an international game, As many as 31 wickets were picked up by spinners. When Steve O’Keefe picked twelve of 31 scalps as Australia produced upset against India inside three days of play in the only Test hosted at the venue, earlier this year.
On the other hand, team India is expected to make a comeback with better planning and turnaround the scenario despite the fact that there’s little margin for error for them. In the last match, Indian wrist spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav only managed a lobe scalp in their quota of 20 overs.
However, bowling coach Bharat Arun stressed that it could have been just one bad day for the young lads, as Kuldeep and Chahal have the plan to counter New Zealand’s much talked about ‘sweeping’ tactics, which would make an impact on Wednesday’s ODI. Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who made a century in the first ODI, didn’t turn up for what was an optional training session while the pacers too took a break. Indian batsmen were seen training against the left-arm pacers in order to combat Trent Boult’s prowess, most notably Rohit Sharma, who clearly looked desperate to decode the long-running problems in Mumbai.
The hosts are not expected to make any changes to their line-up, as Dinesh Karthik, looked stable during his 73-run stand with captain Kohli, and although he failed to convert his 37 into something tangible, he is expected to continue in his role.
Some interesting facts
– A win the second ODI will give New Zealand their first bilateral series win in India, having lost all five earlier series.
– Jasprit Bumrah needs three more wickets to become the second quickest Indian bowler to reach the milestone of 50 ODI wickets after Ajit Agarkar (23). Bumrah has played 26 ODIs till date.
– Mitchell Santner has the best economy rate for any bowler with at least 200 overs since the start of 2016 – 4.64.
Pitch and Weather conditions
After spinners ruled the game in the only Test at Pune, there would be a lot of focus on the pitch condition. However, the questions still remain as the groundsmen were seen running the light roller towards the fag end of Tuesday. Weather-wise, though the sun is expected to beat down hard all day, the humidity levels would be completely opposite to that of Mumbai.
Probable XIs
India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Tim Southee, Colin de Grandhomme, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, Henry Nicholls.
