Hosts India are set to embark on the New Year 2026 with a white-ball series against New Zealand. The T20Is consisting of 5 matches comes a little bit later on, but before that we have the 3 ODIS against the Kiwis. The stage is set as India welcome back their captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer back in the side both recovering from their respective injuries. India have picked a good solid side with the latest news about Rishabh Pant ruled out due to an injury and Bumrah and Hardik Pandya rested due to T20I commitments.
New Zealand, on the other hand, one can say has sent a depleted side for the ODIs with Michael Bracewell leading the side with Mitchell Santner set to return for the T20Is. They have experienced players as well in the batting but the bowling looks a tad thin with some new players which shows that New Zealand will bring the unpredictability factor which could be dangerous for India. The Men in Blue must not take New Zealand likely at all. The stage is set as Kotambi Stadium in Vadorara will host its first Men’s International ODI game.
Overview
India welcome back their captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer as the Men in Blue hosts the New Zealand in a 3-match ODI series which preceeds the 5-match T20I series as well. This is the first assignment for both sides in the New Year. India have named a star studded side while New Zealand have named a depleted side for the ODIs. Few of the main players like Mitchell Santner the regular captain will arrive in India for the shortest format of the game ahead of the big T20 World Cup next month.
The BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara is the venue for the first ODI on Sunday January 11th and the venue is hosting a men’s international game for the first time. India recently beat South Africa 2-1 in a three-match series at home where the dew factor played a significant impact throughout the series, particularly in a couple of high-scoring fixtures. The iconic RO-KO stoke the show in that series. Virat Kohli scored 302 runs in 3 innings, including two centuries and one fifty, while Rohit Sharma slammed two half-centuries.
Kohli and Rohit then also featured in a couple of Vijay Hazare Trophy fixtures for Delhi and Mumbai, respectively. The two former Indian captains lit up the crowd with each scoring a hundred in their respective outings. The series is of least importance in terms of the current situation, with the T20 WC looming around. But for the cricketing fans, this is one of their top priorities to witness the legend of RO-KO that keeps growing every day.
With Gill completely recovering from the foot injury that kept him out of the last two T20Is against the Proteas, he is back leading the Indian team. He takes over the leadership role from KL Rahul, who led the Indian team in Gill’s absence in the recent ODI series. Gill missed the series due to a neck injury that he sustained during the Kolkata Test against South Africa.
Rahul was appointed as captain, not only because Gill was injured, but also because Shreyas Iyer was unavailable after the Mumbai cricketer had a laceration injury to his spleen fielding against Australia in the third ODI at the SCG in October last year. Iyer recently made a comeback in VHT and looked good, hitting 82 and 45 in his two innings at a good pace, but he now bats with a chest guard as a precaution.
Apart from Gill and Iyer, India also welcome the return of seamer Mohammed Siraj, who is back in the ODI squad having last played in Australia last year. Making the way for the trio are Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel and Ruturaj Gaikwad. While Varma was recently injured and underwent surgery for an abdominal issue, Gaikwad was sidelined despite his maiden ODI century in Raipur. Spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya have been rested again from the 50-over side.
In recent development, India’s Test vice-captain and 2nd choice ODI wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant was reportedly ruled out of the series after getting hit in a net session. There isn’t an immediate replacement being named. However, Ishan Kishan seems to be a frontrunner for that spot. The rest of the squad is pretty much similar. With Gill coming back, Yashasvi Jaiswal is expected to make way for the skipper at the top of the order despite scoring a century in his most recent ODI. There will be selection dilemmas in the pace bowling and all-rounder departments as well.
Speaking of New Zealand, they have had a terrific home summer, dominating England and West Indies recently. They have been on a roll, but the conditions are completely different here. Michael Bracewell will lead what is more of a second-string New Zealand side in the ODIs, with Santner missing out due to a groin injury. The visitors are missing several senior and key players. Kane Williamson was unavailable for selection due to commitments in the SA20 league. Tom Latham is back home, expecting the birth of his third child. Matt Henry is recovering from a calf tear.
Nathan Smith (side), Blair Tickner ( shoulder) and Mark Chapman (ankle) were not considered due to respective injuries. Ben Sears is also getting back to match fitness and wasn’t selected for this tour, while the consistent performers Rachin Ravindra and Jacob Duffy have been rested for the ODIs. Bracewell, on the match eve, confirmed that Kristian Clarke is a certain debutant in the playing XI for the series opener. Left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox earned his maiden call-up to the Black Caps squad.
Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Will Young and Devon Conway are the other senior players in the side in addition to the skipper, while Kyle Jamieson is back into the white-ball set-up after managing workload during the West Indies series back home. In the absence of several key players, emerging talents like Aditya Ashok, Josh Clarkson, Nick Kelly, and the recent Test debutant, Michale Rae, have a great chance to stun the strong Indian side in their backyard.
The stage is set for the ODI series to commence and it remains to be seen whether New Zealand can surprise India or will the hosts Men in Blue continue their reign in the ODIs.
Head-To-Head
India and New Zealand have played in a total of 120 ODIs in which India have won 62 and New Zealand have won 50. One match was tied and 7 ended in No Results. In the last 10 matches, it is 7-3 in India’s favour with the Men in Blue winning the last 3 fixtures as well.
Pitch and Weather Report
The pitch in Vadodara is expected to be a good batting pitch and another big total could be on the cards if India bats first. There have been three women’s ODIs at the Kotambi Stadium and in two of them India batted first to post totals well in excess of 300. Unless there is a dramatic shift in the pitch preparation, it is expected to be a batting paradise again. Dew might prompt teams to bowl first if they win the toss.
The weather is expected to be sunny in Vadodara with pleasant conditions for playing cricket. No rain is predicted and the afternoon temperature will touch 28 degree Celsius at maximum. Evening temperature could drop to around 20 degree Celsius. Dew is expected at the stadium, making bowling tougher for the team that bats first.
Predicted/Probable Playing XIs of both sides
Here, we will try and predict the probable playing XIs of both sides:
India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
New Zealand XI: Devon Conway (wk), Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell (c), Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Michael Rae, Adithya Ashok, Zak Foulkes.
Key Players to watch out for in this clash
Virat Kohli: India’s dependable and most consistent batter Virat Kohli will have another point to prove to the selectors that he belongs at this level. After a terrific series against South Africa, Kohli will be raring to go and perform like champions do. He will want to let the bat do the talking and looks determined as ever. India wants Kohli to lead the batting forward at 3 and he is the greatest in this format and understands the pulse of this game.
Kuldeep Yadav: India’s dependable spinner in middle overs, Kuldeep Yadav will be wanting to do well as well as he picked a lot of wickets against South Africa. He will want to carry that on and pick wickets against New Zealand. He will be the key in the middle overs and can give the breakthroughs India needs. He can be expensive at times but he is a wicket-taker and we mustn’t forget that.
Daryl Mitchell: New Zealand’s most consistent performer in ODIS has been Daryl Mitchell lately. We saw in the home series against England and West Indies, that he was the one who put his hand up when the team were in some sort of trouble. With Williamson not there, all eyes will be on Mitchell to do well in the middle order plus, he has a good record against India and so may well fire against them. He will be the linchpin of this batting for sure.
Kyle Jamieson: The returning Kyle Jamieson could also be a player to watch out for as he has experience playing ODI cricket for New Zealand in the past. He had a decent series against the West Indies and will want to do well as one of the more experienced players in the set-up in the absence of so many experienced players. Jamieson has a good record against India and will want to punch above its weight and surprise the Indians if possible.
Key Stats/Records to look out for ahead of this match
- Michael Bracewell is 88 runs away from 1000 ODI runs.
- Virat Kohli is 25 runs away from completing 28,000 international runs.
- Virat Kohli is 42 runs away from becoming 2nd highest run scorer in international cricket.
- Rohit Sharma is 2 sixes away from completing 650 international sixes.
- Virat Kohli needs 94 runs to become India’s highest ODI run-scorer against New Zealand.
Predicted/Possible Outcome of the Match
It is a game of cricket and anything can happen on a given day. New Zealand are known to fight till the end and give their all. But taking everything into consideration, we feel India will start as favourites for this fixture. New Zealand will be no pushovers and can surprise India if India takes them lightly. But with New Zealand having a second-string side, and India full side, India should win this match. But cricket is a game of uncertainty and anything can happen.
Let’s see how things unfold in the first ODI as we are expecting good crowd and a good contest between India and New Zealand.