India wins toss, opts to field first against NZ in 2nd ODI

India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first against New Zealand in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium

Raipur: India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first against New Zealand in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Saturday.

India currently has a lead of 1-0 lead in the series. While the Indian batting lineup is in supreme touch right now, in particular likes of skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, New Zealand is coming into the match with an edge over Indian bowling as a knock of 140 from Michael Bracewell almost won them the match after they were six down for 131 runs in the first ODI. With both sides having brilliant players in all departments, the second ODI of the series shapes to be an interesting one.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said at the toss, “We will bowl first. Was a good test for us, knowing that the wicket will get better to bat on and that was the challenge in front of us. Bracewell batted well, but we bowled well in the end and won the game. There was a bit of dew during the practice sessions, but we have heard from the curator that it will not play a role on game days. We batted first in Hyderabad, we wanted to bowl first here, same team.” New Zealand skipper Tom Latham also said at the toss, “We would have bowled first as well, 1st international game here, so not sure how this wicket will play. Great last game, executed well in the bat and hoping to do the same here. Looking to take back the experience, it is important to win games, but the experience of playing in these conditions will be handy as well. Ish (Sodhi) has not still pulled up well, so we are playing the same team.”

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Henry Shipley, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner.