After an interesting series opener in Vadodara, India and New Zealand will shift base to Rajkot. The Niranjan Shah Stadium will host the second ODI of the three-match series on Wednesday, January 14.
India, slated to be the heavy favorites, seemed to be cruising to a comfortable victory before Virat Kohli’s dismissal in the 90s. A couple of wickets fell in quick succession after that, leaving the hosts in a precarious position. But while the chase went into the penultimate over, KL Rahul held his nerve to take the team over the line.
New Zealand would’ve been encouraged by their performance. Their bowling attack featured a bunch of greenhorns, while the batting unit wasn’t anywhere near full strength either. More experience in the subcontinent will only help the Black Caps, who are known to raise the game even without their star men.
India squad for the New Zealand ODI series: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ayush Badoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Shreyas Iyer, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand squad for the India ODI series: Michael Bracewell (c), Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway (wk), Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay (wk), Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Will Young.
IND vs NZ 2026: India look to seal series against New Zealand
Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls stitched together a solid opening partnership in Vadodara, but they may not always be able to get through the powerplay unscathed. In fact, India hadn’t gone wicketless in the first 10 overs in more than 10 ODIs before the series opener.
If a couple of wickets fall early, New Zealand may not be able to recover from that. Daryl Mitchell is as consistent as ever, while Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell are dangerous. But the Kiwis arguably have too many unanswered questions in both departments, while India have no such problems.
Most of the hosts’ players are in stellar form, and although their lower order is a bit lacking in both form and depth, there’s enough strength in other departments to make up for that. India have a dominant record against New Zealand in home ODIs, and the same pattern is likely to continue.
Prediction: India to win the 2nd ODI vs New Zealand.
Edited by Sai Krishna