India and New Zealand began their ODI clash way back in 1975 in a World Cup match. They have played 93 matches so far and India has won 46 matches and New Zealand 41. Five matches saw no results and one was a tie.
New Zealand emerged victorious by 4 wickets in the first match, with Glen Turner playing a scintillating unbeaten knock of 114. India batted first and scored 230, with S. Abid Ali coming out with a knock of 70. Chasing a target of 231 in 60 overs, New Zealand’s innings was held together by Turner. The Kiwis won the match with 1.1 overs to spare.
The next three matches were also won by them.
The fifth ODI was a Benson and Hedges World Series Cup match in 1980-81. India was bundled out for 162, with Richard Hadlee claiming 5 for 32. Sandeep Patil top scored for India with a brilliant 39. Chasing a meagre target of 163, New Zealand batsmen were clueless to the bowling of Roger Binny. He took 4 for 41. The Kiwis were bundled out for 157 and India scraped through by 5 runs. The second victory for India also came in that series, and this time, it was by 6 runs. The match saw yet another good bowling performance by the Indians.
India had to wait for five more years to get its third victory. It was a Benson and Hedges World Championship semifinal in Australia. Asked to bat first, New Zealand was bundled out for 206. Madan Lal (4 for 37) and Ravi Shastri (3 for 31) were the wreckers-in-chief. Chasing a modest total of 207, India achieved the target in 43.3 overs, with Shastri scoring 53. But it was Kapil Dev and Vengsarkar who took past the victory line with a blistering 105 partnership. Kapil Dev scored 54 and Vengsarkar 63. India went on to lift the World Championship.
From 1986 to 1988, India dominated New Zealand by winning 11 ODI matches.
In the last five ODIs played between the two teams, New Zealand has won four and one was tied.
The tied match was an excellent one. Asked to bat first, New Zealand scored a mammoth 314, with Guptill (111) and Williamson (65) toying with the Indian bowling attack. Ravindra Jadeja (2 for 47) was the highest wicket-taker in that match.
Chasing a target of 315, India started on a positive note, with Dhawan and Rohit Sharma scoring runs freely. But New Zealand bounced back to take four wickets and India was tottering at 79 for 4 in the 18th over. But Raina and Dhoni stitched together a crucial 67 partnership. Raina was dismissed for 31, with the Indian score at 146. The Indian captain scored a brilliant half-century and the Kiwis dismissed him with the Indian score at 184. The New Zealanders were scenting victory at this time. But Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin had other ideas. They just bludgeoned the Kiwi bowling attack and stitched a quick 85-run partnership in just 9.1 overs and Ashwin was dismissed for a well-made 65 and a lot depended on Jadeja. With the quick dismissal of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, the Kiwis once again took the upper hand. India was 286 for 9 in 47.5 overs. With 2.1 overs remaining and one wicket in hand, India had to score 28 runs. Jadeja smashed the Kiwi bowlers to all parts of the ground and India managed to tie the match.
A good finish to an exciting match. Jadeja was declared the man-of-the-match for his all-round performance.
The last ODI played between the two teams was on January 31, 2014 in Wellington. Once again, asked to bat first, New Zealand, riding on Taylor (102) and Williamson (88), set India a total of 303. India was tottering at 78 for 4 in 24 overs. Kohli and Dhoni came out with a useful partnership of 68. Kohli scored a brilliant 82 and Dhoni 47. After Kohli and Dhoni’s dismissal, India just crashed to an 87 run defeat.
After the recent 3-0 Test series win, with some brilliant performances from both batsmen and bowlers, Dhoni will be back in mantle for the ODI series. A lot will be expected from him in leading his team from the front.
Both India and New Zealand will have a different outlook to their teams.
The teams are:
India (for the first three ODIs):
Dhoni (c/wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Kedar Jadhav, Virat Kohli, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mandeep Singh, Amit Mishra, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav
New Zealand:
Kane Williamson (c), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Anton Devcich, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling (wk).
With both Ashwin, man-of-the-series in the Test series and Jadeja rested, India will be depending a lot on Amit Mishra and Axar Patel to spin out the Kiwis.
The schedule of ODIs (all times IST):
1st ODI : India v New Zealand at Dharamsala on October 16, 2016 - 1.30 pm
2nd ODI : India v New Zealand at Delhi on October 20, 2016 - 1.30 pm
3rd ODI : India v New Zealand at Mohali on October 23, 2016 - 1.30 pm
4th ODI : India v New Zealand at Ranchi on October 26, 2016 - 1.30 pm
5th ODI: India v New Zealand at Visakhapatnam on October 29, 2016 - 1.30 pm
Though New Zealand is a strong ODI side, India seems to have an upper hand.
