India elect to bowl against New Zealand in second ODI

India won the toss and elected to bowl against New Zealand in the second ODI in Wellington. Leading 1-0 after a five-wicket win in Auckland, India retained its playing XI, while New Zealand also made no changes.

Wellington: India won the toss and elected to bowl against New Zealand in the second ODI of the five-game series here at the Hnry Stadium on Saturday.

India took a 1-0 lead in the series after winning the opening ODI on Wednesday at Eden Park in Auckland. In what was another rain-curtailed affair, Indian pacers Arshdeep Singh, Anshul Kamboj and Gurnoor Brar stole the show in the first innings and bowled the hosts out for 185 runs in 40.2 overs. Virat Kohli’s composed 51-ball 74 helped the visitors complete the chase with ease as India won by five wickets.

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New Zealand sustained a blow on Friday as Devon Conway, who sat out of the first ODI, was ruled out of the entire series due to a concussion sustained during training before the opener.

Having gained the momentum early on, and even with Mohammed Siraj joining the side ahead of the game, Team India decided to go ahead with the same team with an aim to make it 2-0. The Black Caps too have placed their faith in the same XI.

Winning the toss, India skipper Shubman Gill said, “We will bowl first. No surprises, the conditions are overcast and the wicket was under covers. Yesterday’s practice was called off because of rain, but we have prepared well and are in good spirits. Same team for us.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said, “Looks like a lovely day to bowl first, but we’ll see how the wicket plays and put up a score. Rain around, it’s been under covers, will do a bit. Need to get over the tricky period. We’re excited, some weather around and we have had a nice rest. They’re a great side, winning the toss does help, but they’ve played well. Same team for us.”

Playing XIs:

India: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh

New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner