India and New Zealand meet for the first of three ODIs in Mumbai on Sunday. With this being a relative short series there is the usual onus on winning this first encounter to gain control of the series and not be under the immediate pressure of must-win cricket.
These are two decent exponents of this format usually and the important nature of the contest should ensure we get a decent game of cricket to enjoy.
India
It might be that India have something of an advantage heading into this match given that they have played a good deal of ODI cricket in recent times and will be fully tuned up to the demands that it brings. They have played the majority of it successfully too so their confidence is likely to be high going into the match.
Aside perhaps from one spot in the middle order there is no weakness in this India side. If their batsmen don’t pile up the runs, which to be fair doesn’t happen very often, then their bowlers will get you and if their bowlers have a rare day where they do around the park, the batting often bails it out.
New Zealand
This will be New Zealand’s first ODI for more than four months having not played since their poor run in the Champions Trophy but they have had a couple of warm up matches since they landed in India. That suggests they are taking the series seriously which is interesting given the amount of cricket they are playing this winter.
New Zealand bombed out of that Champions Trophy early because they could not buy a run outside of their top three in the tournament. Their middle order has been reinforced heading into this series but this will be the first real test for it and it remains to be seen how it goes. On the flip side they are usually pretty effective with the ball.
Team News
Shikhar Dhawan is back in the India squad which could see Ajinkya Rahane missing out despite his good form. He could fit into the middle order instead of Manish Pandey however. It remains to be seen whether India will go with both spinners here.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has confirmed that Colin Munro will open alongside Martin Guptill which just leaves the middle order places to be filled. Tom Latham is set to bat at five and keep wicket. Henry Nicholls could bat at six.
Wankhede Stadium
This will be just the 21st ODI to be held at this Mumbai venue. It was the scene of the 2011 World Cup final which India won amid thrilling scenes. That was one of 10 wins to just seven defeats they have had in their 17 matches here. New Zealand have a win and a defeat from their two matches on this ground.
We see year in year out in the IPL that this is a good ground for batting and a high scoring ground. The outfield is usually lightning fast and the boundaries are small and with the wicket often a dream to bat on high scores are often made here. South Africa went past 430 in the last ODI held here. This should be high scoring too.
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Betting
I would give the edge to India in this opening match based on the amount of ODI cricket they have been playing but we know one thing this New Zealand side will never do is quit and make it easy for an opponent so I’m hoping for a good game of cricket. I’ll take it easy to begin with and go with just the one bet in this opening match.
That comes in the sixes market where I’m not sure an 11.5 line is high enough here. This is a small ground and there is enough power in the two batting line ups to clear the ropes a dozen times. We have Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Rohit Sharma on his home IPL ground, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni all going for us. There’s nothing to suggest this won’t be a high scoring match so I expect that line to be safely covered.
Tips
Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betfair
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