New Zealand seek Super League boost against Dhawan-led India

INDIA TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND, 2022

Only a few days ago, Australia and England had to play in front of a record-low crowd at the MCG. It may not be the same in Auckland on Friday with the crowd-drawing India being one of the participants, but there is an overdose that’s hard to look past. Despite the looming threat of rain and the break-free cricket calendar, the two teams will still turn up at the Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, hoping to put on a show.

In just two weeks since the end of the 2022 World Cup, India and New Zealand will be playing their fourth international contest, in a second format, having jetted across to a fourth city. Fret not, if you feeling cricket-jaded, you’re not on a lonely ride. India are playing a near second-string side, New Zealand are without Martin Guptill, Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi.

And yet, in all that, there can a delight, most likely from the in-form Suryakumar Yadav’s bat. Glenn Maxwell has gone to the extent of saying, “He is batting on a completely different planet … Embarrassing thing is that he is so much better than everyone else. It’s almost hard to watch. No one we have got is close to that.”

Irrespective of the timing of the series, and the irrelevance of it for ICC ODI Super League’s table-topper India – who are anyway the hosts of the next World Cup – unlike the recently-concluded three-match rain-marred T20Is the series, the one-dayers have cricketing significance for New Zealand, who are currently placed sixth. Even though they are well-placed to directly qualify for next year’s World Cup, they wouldn’t want to leave it too late, and confirm their place in this series itself.

Heavy rains on Thursday would leave the outfield significantly wet. Even as a lot of rain isn’t expected on the match day, cloudy conditions are likely to be on offer. Trent Boult and Martin Guptill were left out of New Zealand’s squad for the ODIs. It also remains to be seen if Kane Williamson, who missed the third T20I, will be available for the opening one-dayer. Shikhar Dhawan is set to lead a near second-string Indian side in the one-dayers in the absence of several senior players.

New Zealand: likely XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (C), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson

India: likely XI: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

(Cricbuzz)