With the both unbeaten sides aiming for the top spot in the points table, India won the toss and elected to bowl first against New Zealand in the 21st ODI match of the ongoing 2023 World Cup PCA Stadium in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamsala on Sunday (22).
New Zealand began its tournament by beating defending champions England by nine wickets, and then made easy work of the Netherlands (by 99 runs), Bangladesh (by eight wickets) and Afghanistan (by 149 runs). The tougher part of their league campaign begins on Sunday, against two-time champions India, followed by Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
India have been steamrolling its opponents. They beat Australia by six wickets, brushed aside Afghanistan by eight wickets, beat archrivals Pakistan by seven wickets and defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets.
The two countries have played 116 one-day internationals. India holds the better record, with 58 wins. New Zealand have won 50 of those games, while seven ended in no-result and one in a tie.
Meanwhile, India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the World Cup fixture with the Kiwis. He twisted his left ankle while bowling in Pune and has been sent to Bengaluru for rehabilitation.
The Black Caps continue to be without skipper Kane Williamson, who is currently out injured after fracturing his thumb, and Tom Latham will once again be in charge.
Playing XI
INDIA - Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami.
NEW ZEALAND - Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c) (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
