India play New Zealand in the second ODI at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur. India leads the ODI series 1-0 and will look to put more pressure on the opposition in this day-night encounter on Wednesday, December 1, 2:30 PM.
India won the first ODI rather easily though they did have to face some lower-order resistance. New Zealand were without two of their most important players in the game – Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum and that seemed to have hurt their chances.
Watch the India v New Zealand, 2nd ODI live on Neo Cricket. Also watch the India v New Zealand, 2nd ODI highlights on the same channel after the game.
New Zealand will go into the Jaipur with a record of nine winless games and the nervousness will be palpable. The side has recruited the services of former English coach Duncan Fletcher as a consultant but any effect that he will have on the side can only be on a long-term basis. India, on the other hand, will be happy to have come out with an easy win despite going into the game with a near-second-string side.
Venue:
The game will be played at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur, and given that it will be a day-night game, things could get troublesome for the team fielding second. So, it will not come as a surprise that the team winning the toss could elect to field first again. Last time India had played here was against South Africa and the hosts had scraped through to a one-run victory. India has a great record at this stadium, having won eight of the ten games that they have played. The only two losses have come against Pakistan.
The Teams:
India had a good start to the series but will need to sharpen their loose areas. For example, the trio of Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay and Yuvraj Singh gave away good starts and will need to bat on and make something substantial. Secondly, Suresh Raina needs to be told to settle down before beginning to play his strokes. The Indians lost their way in the middle-order after taking the Batting Powerplay thanks to some mindless stroke-play by Raina in the very first over of the Powerplay.
The bowlers did a neat job and Yuvraj Singh’s ability to bowl his quota will go a long way in filling up the all-arounder’s slot. However, Yusuf Pathan’s inabilities in the end overs as a batman and his 0/24 off two overs will cast a shadow over him yet again. R Ashwin bowled rather well and will be keenly watched.
New Zealand obviously missed McCullum and Vettori and there is still a doubt over their inclusion in the side for the second ODI. This will put the onus on to the top-order to try and bat on for a while without losing too many wickets upfront. Jamie How and Martin Guptill need to not allow their wickets to fall to the quick bowlers.
The bad news from the Kiwi point of view is that Darryl Tuffey is out of the side because of injury and that will mean that Tim Southee will get his opportunity in this game. How he bowls on Indian tracks will be interesting to watch.
