Match: India v New Zealand, 1st ODI
Date: 16 October, Sunday
Time: 4pm SGT/1:30pm IST/9am BST
Venue: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
TV Coverage: In Singapore, the live TV coverage of the 1st ODI between India and New Zealand will be on Star Cricket.
Live Streaming: Hotstar
Overview
India will host New Zealand in the first of the five-match One Day International series in Dharamsala on 16 October.
2011 World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni returns to the scene to take charge of the team amidst a long Test series at home, which the Test unit began well with a resounding 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand.
Dhoni and his men would want to make the most of the upcoming series to try and arrive at a settled limited-over combination as India have only eight ODIs before the 2017 Champions Trophy in England. Coach Anil Kumble will also be keen to repeat his longer-format success in his debut ODI series and forge a winning combination with limited-overs skipper.
With the absence of team regulars Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami for the first three ODIs, India will be banking on Amit Mishra and Axar Patel to take care of the spin department, which will play a crucial part in the upcoming series. 26-year-old allrounder Jayant Yadav, who travelled with the team to Zimbabwe earlier this year, is likely to make his ODI debut in Dharamsala.
In the batting department, Test skipper Virat Kohli will once again be the go-to-man. Dhoni would be glad to see Suresh Raina get back to form as the left-hander's all-round ability has proved to be an asset for the skipper in limited-overs cricket. However, he will sit out of the first match due to reported illness.
Apart from his captaincy skills, the focus will also be on Dhoni's ability to inspire the team with the bat. Known to be one of the greatest finishers of the game, the wicketkeeper-batsman has been a shadow of his vintage self in the recent past.
In eight ODIs played in 2016, Dhoni has been able to 86 runs at an average of 17.20 and his last ODI century came in October 2013. Along with its skipper, the team has also struggled in the 50-over format succumbing to series loses against Bangladesh and South Africa since the 2015 World Cup.
On the other hand, New Zealand will be rejuvenated unit in the 50-over format of the game. With the inclusions of Tim Southee and Corey Anderson in the squad, the Black Caps will have the much-needed firepower, which they lacked in the Test series.
Martin Guptill, who struggled in whites, has the proven ability of snatching the game away from the oppositions with quickfire knocks at the top. When it comes to making use of the sub-continent conditions, spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi, who impressed in this year's World Twenty20, will give the visitors a huge boost.
Also, Dharamsala has hosted only three international matches involving India, of which the hosts have lost two. On both occasions the home side bowled second and Dhoni rued losing the toss as the due hardly helped the spinners in the second innings.
On Sunday, the toss will once again play a crucial role and both the captains, who are under some amount of pressure, would not want to start the series on a losing note.
TV Schedule
Singapore: Star Cricket
Middle East: OSN Sports Cricket
India: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3
New Zealand: Sky Sport
UK: Sky Sports
US: Willow TV
Team News
India
Possible XI: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav
New Zealand
Possible XI: Kane Williamson (c), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
