After a high-scoring first ODI at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, the action for the second and penultimate match of the series between India and New Zealand will take place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, in Raipur.
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Both the teams’ bowling attack in particular, looked all over the place during the first ODI today, as nearly 700 runs were collectively scored by the batters from both the sides.
Team India, however, will not be pleased with the way their bowlers turned up during the latter half of their bowling innings, with the Kiwi nos. 7 and 8 toying with their attack and stitching together a partnership worth 162 runs off mere 102 deliveries.
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With their batting line-up coming up with decent enough performances in the format of-late, Rohit Sharma will look to come up with answers pertaining his bowling attack composition, with the Asia Cup and World Cup at sight.
Raipur Cricket Stadium pitch report
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur will host its first-ever international match on January 21 (Saturday).
The venue, however, has hosted a total of six IPL matches in the past along with a few Champions League T20 matches. Also, in the past couple of years, it has also hosted quite a few Road Safety World Series matches as well.
Across the six IPL matches here, the average score stands at 149.6 runs, with the highest team total being 164 runs.
Despite majority Indian pitches being conducive enough for batting, the Raipur track has not been the one where the batters would easily walk the talk.
The pitch here has a tendency to slow down as the game progresses, thereby bringing the spinners into play and pacers relying on their variations and slower deliveries. The relatively bigger boundary dimensions at this venue will further provide the bowlers the additional confidence to give their deliveries some more flight and play with the change in pace.
All in all, expect an even contest with both bat and ball com Saturday, unlike the first ODI in Hyderabad.
