India aim to stretch lead as inexperienced pace attack faces another test vs NZ in second ODI

India’s inexperienced but promising pace attack will look to build on its impressive performance in the series opener and keep New Zealand’s batters under pressure when the two sides meet in the second ODI at Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

India hold a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after their five-wicket win in the rain-affected first ODI in Auckland, with their fast bowlers providing the platform with a disciplined bowling effort.

Pre-series doubts over India’s comparatively unproven bowling stocks had been troubling, but Gurnoor Brar, Anshul Kamboj and Arshdeep Singh announced their presence in the first game. Brar, Kamboj and Singh’s showing also indicated a marginal change in head coach Gautam Gambhir’s reliance on all-rounders, with the team packing a four-prong pace attack.

Although Arshdeep took the most wickets, Kamboj was India’s best bowler, with 46 dot balls in his 10 overs. Though the other pacers mostly bowled into the pitch, Kamboj kept hitting Test match lengths and managing swing in his deliveries to challenge the New Zealand batsmen.

He may also be thrown the ball next to Arshdeep, as he did in the first match with Auqib Nabi. The other four pacers were not able to take a single wicket, and if Siraj was fit to play, it would make room for the more experienced fast bowler. The Indian team, however, has been tight-lipped about its choices.

In addition to the quicks having to adapt to a change of venue, their lengths may need to readjust as well. While Eden Park’s shorter straight boundaries had called for the short ball, the dimensions of Hnry Stadium – a particularly short square boundary – may mean the fuller is better.

His own team’s batting will also be hoping for more from Rohit Sharma, who was dismissed for a duck in the first over of the series opener shortly after arriving in New Zealand on the back of a successful home series versus the West Indies.

The other half of the thing was sitting in Auckland, scoring fluently to arrive at 74 runs off 51 balls. While Virat Kohli is at ease with an additional bounce, the same cannot be said of a few of his team-mates.

Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel had a dismal time against the short-ball barrage, with Iyer eventually nicking one to keep out a rising delivery. Both these batsmen will want to address these concerns soon enough.

The New Zealand batters also looked to counter the quicks from India in the first game with a pull shot, but were largely unsuccessful — skipper Mitchell Santner admitted after the game that his side had been short of feet against the extra bounce from the Indian bowlers.

The hosts will be without key batsman Devon Conway after he was ruled out of the rest of the series following a blow to the head during a collision in fielding practice.

It could also become something of a lottery if the weather plays ball on Saturday. Low-level drizzle in Wellington on Friday was enough to see both teams change their training plans. New Zealand trained at the indoor facilities at Wellington College, while India cancelled theirs altogether.

Fast bowler Henry has been cleared of concussion after the training incident and will be available for the second ODI in Wellington on Saturday.

There will be more rain on match day, according to AccuWeather, with a 60 per cent chance of showers in the first half and a 55 per cent chance in the second.

As well as the tour opener, it was also rain-hit, with a 10-minute delay to the start time and India’s target being reduced from 186 in 50 overs to 143 in 32 as the chase was interrupted twice. India then achieved the job, seven down – Kohli’s 74 and Kamboj’s 2-22 earning him the Player of the Match award.

The series will then shift to Hamilton for the third ODI on 10 November, after which the final two matches will be held at Mount Maunganui on November 13 and 15.

Agencies