The latest team to tour India are New Zealand and they get their limited overs clashes underway on Sunday when the two sides begin a three match ODI series which precedes a batch of T20 over the same number.
Both sides have pretty heavy schedules coming up over the next few months so they have the chance, albeit in the shorter formats, to build up some early momentum which should make for some competitive cricket.
Schedule
1st ODI: Oct 22 at Mumbai
2nd ODI: Oct 25 at Pune
3rd ODI: Oct 29 at Kanpur
India
The Indians are on something of a roll in this format which will please them. They have responded well to defeat in the final of the Champions Trophy with series wins over West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia, all of which have been pretty emphatic both in scoreline and in performance with their bowlers really catching the eye.
This will be another test of the Indian credentials. One area of concern could be the amount of cricket that they have played in recent times and they haven’t really been rotating too much throughout that time. That said, these three matches are fairly well spaced out which should help them in this series.
New Zealand
In contrast to India, this is the first time we have seen New Zealand in this format since their poor performance in the Champions Trophy back in June. In that time they have had the chance to reassess where they are as a one day side and come up with formulas and gameplans to get back to the level they were at a couple of years ago.
If the Kiwis are to get back to the level that we have come to expect from them then they will need to make sure that they bat well. It is encouraging that they have been trying things out in the warm up matches here. They have always been a largely innovative group and it would be no surprise if they have something up their sleeve here.
Head to Head
There have been 12 previous series between these two sides down the years. India have had the edge in them with six wins to New Zealand’s four. There have also been two drawn series. India have won all five series in India which highlights the size of the task for New Zealand.
The matches between the two nations down the years have been quite tight. New Zealand have 24 wins to India’s 27 with a couple of no results and a tie which suggests we might get a tight looking series.
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Betting
I’m not really one for betting on three match series in terms of the outcome because the first match has such a significance but there are a couple of player markets which have runners I like at very acceptable prices.
It remains to be seen how much time in the middle Kedar Jadhav will get but if New Zealand are strong at any point with the ball it is with the new ball which could see the Indian top order struggle a little bit. Throughout the last 12-15 months we’ve seen Jadhav bail India out of trouble quite a few times and if he gets the chance to do that a couple of times in this series 14/1 could look very big.
I always like Ross Taylor on small cricket grounds and these three could be right up his street. He has all the experience you need in India too which helps. He is good against seam and spin and loves going big when he gets a start. New Zealand need him to score big if they are to win the series and I think he will.
Tips
Back K.Jadhav Top India Series Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Coral
Back him here:
Back R.Taylor Top New Zealand Series Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 5.50 with Betfred
Back him here:
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