India made the grievous mistake of underestimating the Black Caps, as New Zealand comfortably beat India in the first ODI in Mumbai.
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The Men in Blue could morally be on the top and take refuge in the fact that their last recent home series win was against Australia.
One more wrong step is going to be costly in a do or die contest as the Indian players have a lot of catching up to do to equal the series.
India’s last home series defeat came against South Africa where they lost 2-3 in 2015.
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New Zealand’s record in unfamiliar territory in India hasn’t been good either. Their body language is vindictive of the fact that they have got something in them to make use of the situation in a crepuscular setting.
India have been playing non-stop brand of cricket since the Champions Trophy and with rotational policy coming into play, players take turns in a bid to take rest and also to get rid of fatigue factors.
Other than Virat Kohli’s master class and Dinesh Karthik’s decent innings in the 1st ODI, nobody showed the necessary appetite to score runs.
It would be quite interesting to see how the Indians respond to the critical match point and it is the time for India to make a real case as a collective unit in the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
India’s Probable XI:
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
New Zealand’s Probable XI:
Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (captain), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Adam Milne.
