India’s victory in the first ODI was their first in New Zealand since 2009 – the only time they registered their ODI series win here. They outplayed the home team in all the departments. Barring the dropped catch by Kedar Jadhav, they hardly put a foot wrong.
India have decided to rest Virat Kohli for the last two ODIs and the T20I series. The captain courageous will leave no stone unturned to seal the series 0-3 before he heads back home for a much needed vacation.
Let’s dish out the best XI for our fantasy team.
My XI: MS Dhoni (wk), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ross Taylor (vc), Kane Williamson/Martin Guptill, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami, Doug Bracewell, Lockie Ferguson
Pitch report
The pitch at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui is an absolute featherbed for the batters, so much so that New Zealand hammered 371 and 319 in their last two ODIs here. Their opposition Sri Lanka replied with scores of 326 and 298, failing to reach the target.
Win the toss and choose to bat. No brainer.
Note: Make your fantasy cricket team by knowing the statistics.
Batters
If Rohit fails, Dhawan delivers. If Dhawan fails, Kohli takes centre stage. If Kohli fails, Rohit bails India out of problem. There are also times when two of the three smash the opposition in tandem. Picking the trio always reaps rewards for the fantasy players. If you leave out one of them for another batter, do that at your own risk. The track is tailor-made for them to go all guns blazing.
Taylor, who is only behind Kohli since the 2015 World Cup, likes to accumulate runs at this ground. He has scores of 54 and 90 here. He was outfoxed by Chahal’s loopy leg-spinner in the first ODI. The veteran will make sure he doesn’t repeat the same mistake and continue his good form.
We have two candidates for the fifth batter: Williamson and Guptill.
The class-apart Williamson is often the top pick for the fantasy players. In fact, it was his half-century in the first ODI that kept New Zealand in the hunt.
Guptill, on the other hand, fell prey to a spectacular in-swinger from Shami. However, we may not get to see lateral movement at Mount Maunganui. If that happens, Guptill will smash the Indian bowlers to pulp. That he plundered 138 here three weeks ago makes his case stronger.
Wicketkeeper
Thanks to Dhawan’s terrific innings that Dhoni didn’t get to bat. That said, you’ll never be at loss if you pick him. He is India’s best wicketkeeper of all time in ODIs. With spinners in action, Dhoni is busy behind the wickets, stumping out the batters. Let us also not forget the fact that he scored three consecutive fifties in Australia.
Latham may not be as great a wicketkeeper as Dhoni, but he has superior batting skills. To make matters more fascinating, he averages 65.85 against India in 9 matches, and has been in a top-notch form.
Both Latham and Dhoni go neck and neck for the wicketkeeper’s spot.
Bowlers
Mohammad Shami set the series on fire when he knocked over Guptill and Munro within the first four overs. He later trapped Santner lbw, finishing with figures of 3 for 19 and eventually bagging the Man of the Match award.
After Shami laid the foundation, Chahal took over and pushed New Zealand in further trouble. He dismissed Taylor and Latham in quick succession, placing India in a commanding position. You may opt for Kuldeep Yadav who took 4 wickets, but two of these wickets were that of tail-enders. It is Chahal’s form vs Kuldeep’s mystery bowling.
We have drafted in two pacers from the home team: Bracewell and Ferguson. On a day that saw New Zealand’s pace duo of Boult and Southee struggle, it were Bracewell and Ferguson who rose up to the challenge. While Bracewell dismissed Rohit, Ferguson bagged the all-important wicket of Kohli.
All-rounder
We have only 8 credit points left. The only player available at this price is Vijay Shankar.
Come to think of it, he is a worthy pick. Shankar has a knack of hitting sixes and will play a crucial part on this track.
Here are the probable XIs in case you want to explore more options.
Probable XI for New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee/Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Doug Bracewell, Trent Boult
Probable XI for India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal
Also get to know the tips & tricks on how to play fantasy cricket.