India aim for 2-0 lead in second ODI against New Zealand in Wellington; hosts seek to level series

The second match of the five-match ODI series between India and New Zealand will be played at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Saturday, 7 November. The match is due to start at 7:30 am Indian time. India will go into it with a 1-0 lead.

The first match of the series, at Eden Park in Auckland, had to be shortened because of rain. In that match, played on Wednesday, India won by five wickets under the DLS method. India will now try to win the second match and go 2-0 ahead, while New Zealand will want to level the series. New Zealand had earlier won the last two T20 matches. If captain Mitchell Santner's side loses this match, it will have to win all three remaining ODIs.

The remaining schedule is as follows. The third ODI will be played in Hamilton on 10 November. The fourth ODI on 13 November and the fifth ODI on 15 November will be played in Mount Maunganui. All matches will start at 7:30 am Indian time.

The results of the two teams' last five matches were as follows. India won the first ODI by five wickets (DLS). New Zealand won the fifth T20 by seven wickets. New Zealand won the fourth T20 by 87 runs. India won the third T20 by six wickets and the second T20 by four wickets.

In the first ODI, Virat Kohli scored 74 off 51 balls. India were given a revised target of 143 after the rain, which they reached in 22.4 overs. With the ball, Arshdeep Singh took four wickets and Gurnoor Brar took three. Anshul Kamboj took two wickets for 22 runs and was named player of the match. New Zealand were bowled out for 185, with Tim Seifert making the highest score of 38. They will need long partnerships in Wellington.

The return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is the biggest news of this tour. Together with captain Shubman Gill, the two will give the side stability. In Auckland, Kohli steadied the innings with a fine half-century. Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer and wicketkeeper KL Rahul are the side's support in the event of a sudden collapse.

New Zealand's strategy rests on extracting help from the pitch early, so that wickets fall before the batters settle. For that, the hosts will look to their two main new-ball bowlers, Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson. With the bat, Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell will have to make big contributions, because Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav tighten India's grip in the middle overs.

In the head-to-head record in ODIs, 124 matches have been played so far. India have won 64 and New Zealand 52. One match was tied and seven had no result.

India's ODI squad comprises Shubman Gill (captain), Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. New Zealand's squad includes Mitchell Santner (captain), Devon Conway, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy and Matt Henry.

The contest between Matt Henry and Rohit Sharma in the first ten overs will be key. If Henry gets movement, India could come under pressure; otherwise Rohit and Gill will try to run the match on their terms.

On conditions at Sky Stadium, strong winds blow in from the coast, which help bowlers who swing the ball with the breeze. The drop-in pitch offers good bounce with the new ball and later becomes a reliable batting surface. The straight boundaries are long, while the square boundaries are short. Teams that win the toss often choose to bowl first, to take advantage of early moisture and to manage the DLS equation.