BackNew Zealand (NZ) and India (IND) are playing the second ODI of the five-match series at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Saturday, November 07. The start of the match was delayed due to inclement weather conditions at the ground.
Ace pacer Mohammed Siraj had regrouped with the visiting side ahead of the second encounter, having missed the series opener owing to workload management.
While the toss went in favour of the Indian team, skipper Shubman Gill reiterated his decision of bowling first. Gill said that he was prompted to bowl first, courtesy of the overcast conditions, which would not only allow for better help to the seamers but also help them assess the conditions and the required target to plan their batting accordingly.
While it was expected that Siraj would walk in right into the Playing XI, skipper Gill confirmed that the senior pacer would indeed warm the bench yet again, as the Men in Blue entered the game with the same team as Auckland. The hosts, New Zealand, on the other hand, also opted to play the same combination that lost on Wednesday.
Will Young, Tim Seifert, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (WK), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (C), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh
"We're going to bowl first. No surprises there. The overcast conditions and the wicket being under covers for a couple of days. (Have you managed to get outside for some practice in the last couple of days) No, not really. Practice was called off yesterday because of some rain, but I think we got some good practice in the match that we played a couple of days ago.
"(What have you said to your guys between Auckland and here) Not much, to be honest. I think it's all about consistency, and if we are able to repeat the performance that we did in Auckland, I think we're going to be in a good space. We're playing the same team."
"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."