Recap: Black Caps vs India – First ODI at Eden Park, Auckland

The Black Caps return to Eden Park on Friday after a 603-day hiatus to face India in the first game of the one-day international series.

Earlier this week, New Zealand returned to the top of the world ODI rankings following England’s 3-0 series defeat to Australia in Tasman.

But to stay there they need to hold off world No. 3 India, who play in Hamilton on Sunday and Christchurch next Wednesday.

team news

Finn Allen has the full backing of coach Gary Stead and selector Gavin Larsen, replacing Black Caps top-ranked Martin Guptill, and the veteran will be included in the squad for this series. Is not …

ODI specialist Shikar Dhawan will lead India in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma, while fellow batting stars Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will also not be in the series.

Key stats

The Black Caps have won the last four ODIs against India. Three of those were his wins over New Zealand in early 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic started, and his Cup semi-finals over England in 2019.

Two of the two teams’ last three matches at Eden Park have ended in victories for the home side, the other being a draw in 2014.

Weather forecast (via MetService)

partly cloudy. Showers, possibly thunderstorms before dawn, abating in the evening. Fresh Westerly.

TAB odds

Black Cap $1.75, India $2.00

squad

Black cap: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Rocky Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Darryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southey

India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik