India vs New Zealand Live Score: NZ win toss & opt to field, debuts for Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
India vs New Zealand: Time to put faith in Sanju Samson’s ability as Team India plans for 50-Over World Cup
It is imperative for India to have two of Shreyas, Sanju, Suryakumar in the middle-order going forward. (BCCI/Twitter)
On the face of it, India’s three-match One-Day International series against New Zealand beginning Friday at Auckland will go down as another pointless contest with no context to it.
Speaking on the eve of the match, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson didn’t mince his words and reiterated how ODIs need context. On Monday, Australia and England faced-off at the MCG in front of a sparse crowd, and a similar scene at the Eden Mark when India and New Zealand take the field is a possibility. The Men in Blue have chosen to rest their stars and even Hardik Pandya, who led the team in the T20Is is back home, handing over the team to Shikhar Dhawan.
And for all the talk of this series lacking context, for India there is more to it. The 50-over World Cup is less than a year away and they need to hit the ground running. They have resources in place, but are still some dance away from identifying which ones to use. (READ MORE)
