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India vs New Zealand: Kiwis have a mountain to climb against in-form hosts in first ODI at Mumbai

Mumbai: On a roll after consecutive series wins against Sri Lanka and Australia, a confident India will aim to hunt New Zealand when they face-off in the opener of the three-match one-day international (ODI) series at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.

The Virat Kohli-led side will also have one eye on reclaiming the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings after being pushed to the second position by South Africa.

India and South Africa have identical 120 ratings against their name, but the Men in Blue are placed second on the basis of the decimal points.

Going into the first ODI against the Kiwis, India will once again bank on their strong batting form led by the skipper and the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

With the opening conundrum sorted and Kohli settled at No.3, it will be interesting to see who takes the No.4 spot in the line-up.

Recently, India have experimented with a number of youngsters, including allrounder Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav, for the slot that serves as a critical link between the top and lower middle-order.

While Pandya shone with a match-winning unbeaten 78 against Australia upon being promoted, Pandey has got the longest run of the lot at No. 4 despite his unflattering numbers. With an in-form Dinesh Karthik recalled for this series, it will be interesting to see who gets to bat at two-down.

The bowling department appears a settled unit with limited-overs specialists Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah cementing their places.

Rookie Shardul Thakur finds himself in the team as much for the rotation policy as for his sharp form in the recently concluded ‘A’ series against New Zealand.

But all eyes will be on India’s newfound wrist-spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who made life difficult for the Aussies in the recently concluded series.

They will surely pose a challenge for the Kiwis, given the visitors’ past record against Indian spinners.

On the other hand, New Zealand will hope the experienced Ross Taylor and skipper Kane Williamson shoulder responsibility in the batting department, which also includes the likes of Martin Guptill, Tom Latham and Colin Munro.

Latham and Taylor started the tour with brilliant centuries in the practice tie against the Board President’s XI and look confident going into the series opener.

On the fast-bowling front, New Zealand seem settled with Trent Boult having already picked a five-for in the first practice game. Tim Southee and Adam Milne form the rest of the battery while Matt Henry joins them over from the ‘A’ tour.

Left-armer Mitchell Santner will be the first-choice spinner.

SQUADS

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wicket-keeper), Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, George Worker

Source: Zee News