The stage is set for the ODI series to get underway as the top two sides in the ICC ODI rankings face-off against each other. It’s India who are facing New Zealand in New Zealand for a rare 5-match ODI series. The first match is set to commence on 4th November, 2026 at Eden Park, Auckland from 7:30 AM IST, 3 PM Local time in New Zealand. India might have won the T20I series 3-2, but winning momentum from that series and home conditions suit the Kiwis.
Shubman Gill will lead India in the first three matches in Auckland, Wellington, and Hamilton hoping to wrap up the series in the first three matches. ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer will take over for the last two matches at the Bay Oval. India are coming off a series win against the West Indies at home 2-1 while New Zealand haven’t played ODI cricket for a while but boasts a great home record, not losing an ODI bilateral series since 2019.
The stage is set for a heavyweight battle between two sides as the focus will fully be on the ODI World Cup 2027 coming up in a year’s time. Every game counts and there is nothing like a dead rubber in this format now.
Overview.Â
Fresh off a T20I series win against New Zealand, the Men in Blue will be up and running and wanting to get off to a positive start when they face the hosts New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland, on Wednesday, 4th November, 2026 from 7:30 AM IST onwards. 3 PM Local Time as well. It’s 1 vs 2 in the ICC rankings and the repeat of the ICC Champions Trophy final 2025 which India edged the Kiwis out. However, New Zealand beat India in India in January 2026 by 2-1 after being 1-0 down in the series.
Shubman Gill will lead the Indian side for the first three matches before preparing for the Test matches with Shreyas Iyer leading the side in the last two games. The series will mark the return of legendary duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The first match takes place a day prior to Kohli’s 38th birthday. Wellington will host the next ODI on 7th, followed by Hamilton on the 10th. The last two games will be held at Mount Maunganui on 13th and 15th November.
Like we mentioned, New Zealand had the upper hand over India in this ODI format. A depleted New Zealand squad squeezed out a 2-1 win in India at the start of the year while the hosts won the series when India last visited New Zealand in 2022. Both teams have announced two different squads for this 5-match series. The Test regulars will play in the first three games ahead of the two-match Test series. This has given ample opportunities to the players who have done well for the A sides and in the domestic circuit.
Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Gurnoor Brar were the first ones from the ODI unit to jump into the nets in Auckland, joining the T20I side when they were at the venue for the 4th T20I. On the same day, Virat Kohli arrived in the city after Rohit Sharma had landed in Tamaki Makaurau the previous day. Gill, Rahul, and Anshul Kamboj will be available for the first three One-dayers.
Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer will then take over the reins for the fourth and fifth ODIs, with wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan stepping in as the deputy T20I vice-captain Tilak Varma, Jharkhand wicket-keeper batter Kumar Kushagra and Vidarbha fast bowler Yash Thakur will link up with the squad.
They will be with the squad for the finals two games as replacements for Gill, Rahul, and Kamboj. In what was big and shocking news, backup opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was left out of the squad, keeping in mind the Test series. Jaiswal is currently playing for India A in the three-match Unofficial Test series against New Zealand, and after three failures in a row, the southpaw has managed to score a majestic ton to save the game in Christchurch. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, while the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is yet to recover from his injuries; this time it’s a right tibial bone stress response.
Karnataka seamer Prasidh Krishna, who was initially named in the squad subject to fitness, will now miss the ODIs as he continues to recover from a left hamstring injury he picked up in the second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati. Harshit Rana has been battling injuries this year, and a recent unspecified injury has kept him out of this tour too.
The batting core is well settled as the team prepares for the upcoming ODI World Cup in Africa. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has a fantastic List-A record and has performed whenever he got a chance at four in the absence of Iyer, isn’t expected to start, but he will definitely play as the series progresses. Axar Patel and Naman Dhir are the all-rounder who can bowl spin. The Punjab all-rounder has made rapid strides at the senior level after being inducted into the squad as a like-for-like replacement for Washington Sundar, who has been asked to focus on his red ball game.
Interestingly, Nitish Kumar Reddy, whom India are developing to replace the superstar Pandya, was initially named in the set-up for the first three ODIs, but now the team management wants him to play the third Unofficial Test against New Zealand A, ahead of the all-important Test assignment. Hence, he will be available only for the series opener. Reddy started well in the T20Is, but gradually missed his lines and lengths with the ball.
Jammu & Kashmir seam bowling all-rounder Auqib Nabi, who was in the ODI squad for the last two games, has now been added for the entire series. He played the first Four-Day game for India but had to leave that camp for the bigger role. Nabi made his India debut in the West Indies ODIs but struggled with the ball on batting paradises back home. In Bumrah’s absence, Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack, having already tried to adapt to the conditions by playing a red-ball game in Christchurch.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has been recalled into the ODI outfit, while Gurnoor Brar and Kamboj are the other two weapons in the fast-bowling group. As usual, Kuldeep Yadav remains the lead spinner, but whether the conditions allow the management to play him remains a question! However, a magician like Kuldeep can be a handy option for any side in any conditions. India will also have no Ravindra Jadeja in their ranks as in ODIs, he has been under par recently and hasn’t travelled abroad when India has played recently. The time is running out for him with the World Cup happening in under a year in Africa.
For New Zealand, 12 of their 15-man squad were part of the T20 squad with Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls and Will Young joining the side to add depth to the squad. Nicholls was not part of the original squad, and was expected to play the India A vs New Zealand A game ahead of the Tests. But with Rachin Ravindra not fit and failing to recover from his right shoulder injury he picked up during a promo shoot in September, the 34-year-old southpaw has been called up.
He has been in fine form across formats and is coming off his 13th List-A ton in a Ford Trophy game. However, he will be available for the first three ODIs before all-rounder Dean Foxcroft joins the team for the last two games. In addition, Mark Chapman, who missed the T20Is due to a left hamstring tear he sustained in the ETPL earlier this year, has not recovered and will miss the ODIs too, In his absence, wicket-keeper batter Tim Seifert, who was earlier announced for the final two ODIs in the team will be playing the whole series. Devon Conway failed to get a game in the T20Is.
He was set to open in Game 1, but a collision with Matt Henry meant he was sent for scans. Henry hasn’t suffered concussion, but Conway has and has been ruled out of the opening clash. Henry’s participation for Game 1 and beyond will be addressed in due course. Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham and the man who can do no wrong at the moment, Glenn Phillips are the vital cogs in the Kiwis batting line-up. Phillips is fresh from a dream T20I series against India, scoring a world-record 341 runs, including three fifties and 1 hundred in 5 matches as no other batter on Planet Earth has scored as many runs in a bilateral T20I series.
Skipper Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell will again look to keep the Indian batters in check as they did in the majority of the T20Is. Matt Henry will lead the attack if fit as he is suffering from low-grade tear in his right quadriceps in the second T20I and it requires a couple of weeks to recover. Plus, he suffered from a collision with Conway, He will be assessed before a final call on his availability will be made ahead of the toss at Eden Park.
Smith and Duffy were involved in four T20Is; Jamieson featured in Game 3 while Tickner played the fifth game. Matt Fisher who impressed in the T20Is was named for the final two games, has now been added for the whole series.
Moreover, Will O’Rourke, who traumatised the Indians when the Blackcaps last visited India, continues to recover from left-hamstring and calf injuries and will miss the tour. The right arm quick has had an injury prone career so far. Zak Foulkes, who injured his right hip flexor during a training session with Canterbury, has been ruled out of the limited overs assignment. Spearhead Lockie Ferguson will join for the last two ODIs, provided he recovers from a low-grade tear in his right calf sustained in the second T20I.
Dangerous Finn Allen, seam-bowling all-rounder, Kristian Clarke, keeper-batter Mitchell Hay, Foxcroft, left-handed batter Nick Kelly and Ferguson will link up with the ODI side after the likes of Conway, Latham, Phillips, Nicholls, Jamieson, Henry and Smith leave the camp to get ready for the much-anticipated Test series. It will be smaller boundaries again, and the margin for the error will be very small for the bowlers. The ball may fly and so the bowlers may get it tight. There might be something in it for the bowlers with this match being an afternoon start.
Dew can be a factor here and teams may opt to chase. The stage is set as the Men In Blue and the Blackcaps will try to start the series on a winning note.
Head-To-Head.Â
New Zealand and India have played against each other in 123 ODIs in which New Zealand won 52 games while India won 63 matches. One match ended in a Tie while 7 matches ended in a No Result. In the last 10 clashes, it’s 8-2 in India’s favour.
Pitch & Weather Report.Â
Generally, a flat, high-scoring batting track, though it is noted to have good bounce and some early movement for seamers. Famous for its short straight and square boundaries resembling a baseball diamond, making mistimed hits travel a long way. The average first innings score is 222 runs and average second innings score is 195 runs. The highest ODI total was 340/5 by New Zealand vs Australia, 2007. The lowest total is 73 by New Zealand vs Sri Lanka in 2007.
The conditions are most likely to be mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with comfortable match temperatures. The temperature will be around 19-20 degrees Celsius at the start, cooling down to about 17-18 degrees Celsius later in the match. The rain chances are low to moderate chance of stray in morning and overcast showers clearing up for the match window minimal disruption expected. The average humidity around 75-83% with light wins blowing at roughly 16 km/hr; dew is unlikely to be a major factor.
Probable/Predicted Playing XIs of both sides.Â
Here, we will try to predict the probable playing XIs of both sides.
India XI: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand XI: Will Young, Tim Seifert, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy.
Key Players to watch out for in this clash.Â
Shubman Gill: The Indian captain will look to lead from the front and is in decent form. This is Gill’s preferred format as he excels in this format. He got a double ton recently in the West Indies series. He will want to start well at the top alongside Rohit Sharma. Gill will try and start the series on a good note in this series for sure. There are other batters, Gill will have a major role to play.
Mohammed Siraj: Mohammed Siraj is the leader of the pace attack and with Bumrah being rested, he will be expected to lead the attack. He will look to put his experience into great play here. If he does well, India will bowl better. Siraj picked up 4 wickets albeit in a different format in New Zealand and will be high on confidence in this ODI series for sure. Siraj will need early wickets as well.
Daryl Mitchell: Glenn Phillips might have been the nemesis for India in the T20Is, but when it comes to ODIs, there can be no one better than Daryl Mitchell. Daryl Mitchell torments India in the 50-over format and earlier this year he had a stellar series in India. Before that he had two hundreds against the Indians in 2023 ODI World Cup. Mitchell will be hoping to do well for his side batting at 4 and lead from the front.
Mitchell Santner: The captain of New Zealand was in scintillating form in the T20I series. He will want to carry on the good work in the ODI series as well. Bowling in the second power play onwards from 11-40 overs, Santner will look to keep things tight and get wickets. He will want to control the middle overs for sure. If Santner continues his form, then the Kiwis will have the upper hand over India.
Key Stats and Records to look out for in this clash.Â
- Rohit Sharma has bever scored an ODI hundred in New Zealand, averaging 36.41 in 13 innings and striking at 72.95.
- Shubman Gill is the leading run-getter in ODI cricket this year, scoring 895 runs in just 11 innings at an average of 111.87 and a strike-rate of 118.7.
- Teams batting first have won batting first 34 times while the teams chasing has won 47 times.
- The highest successful chase was 340/5 by New Zealand vs Australia while the lowest score defended was 153/10 by New Zealand vs England.
- India’s highest total at Auckland was 314/9 in January 2014Â while their lowest score was 108 all out in December 2002.
- Virender Sehwag’s 112 runs against New Zealand in January 2003 is India’s highest individual score at Auckland.
Predicted/Possible Outcome of the Match.Â
It’s the clash between two top sides in ODI cricket. This series can go either way in our view. Starting the series will be important for both teams despite it being a 5-match series. India being the visitors need to start well and cannot afford to go down and play catch-up. Having said that, New Zealand are a quality side on paper and at home. Overall history favours India, but the Kiwis have the wood recently in this format.
The first game is important and whoever wins can drive home the advantage. Expect a closely contested series and no team to give an inch. We will give a slight edge to New Zealand as they are playing at home. But the Indians will be hungry for success. So, the start for India will be important. Let’s see how the match pans out in Auckland from 7:30 AM IST onwards on Wednesday.
Also Read: NZ vs IND: Tim Seifert’s Swashbuckling Knock Flabbergasts India