1st ODI: New Zealand vs India
Thoughts will turn to the upcoming ODI World Cup when two of the highly fancied teams meet on Wednesday, for the first in a five match series at Napier in Hawke’s Bay.
The 1st ODI, New Zealand vs India will give you SBOBET cricket fans the chance to measure the two sides most likely to stop England winning the 2019 tournament on home soil. India and New Zealand sit second and third in the ICC ODI Rankings list, behind World Cup hosts England, and this five match series might just push one of them to the front.
The ODIs will be followed by a three match T20 bash so the big hitters and death bowlers will learn a lot about their rivals over the next few weeks. Virat Kohli’s team has made the short distance from Australia to New Zealand having just played out a box office three match series with Green Baggies, running out 2-1 winners.
Meanwhile, the Black Caps are back in action after a successful series against Sri Lanka, winning in all three formats of the game. These are two talented teams in good form and the New Zealand vs India betting odds point to a fascinating battle.
Talking points
New Zealand is a superbly balanced group
The Black Caps have been a force in cricket for a couple of decades now. For years they relied on the all-round brilliance of their greatest ever player, Richard Hadlee, but now they have a team with world class players from one to 11.
Ross Taylor is New Zealand’s highest ranked batsman at number three in the ICC list and, along with Kane Williamson, has been one of the best in the ODI game over the past 12 months. Taylor was in outstanding form in the final game against Sri Lanka, smashing 137 off just 131 balls while Williamson weighed in with 55 as the Black Caps cruised to 364 for 4. Henry Nicholls is a fine number five and he scored a century too as the Sri Lanka bowling attack was systematically dismantled.
With the ball, the pace duo of Tim Southee and Trent Boult bowled with their usual combination of menace and guile as a highly skilled new ball attack in the test series against Sri Lanka. But it was right arm leg-spinner Ish Sodhi who put the Sri Lankan batters to the sword in the final ODI, taking three for 40 at just over four an over, while 27 year old quickie, Lockie Ferguson, bowled with good control at five an over.
Chahal bowles himself into history
India has a richer history of spin bowlers than New Zealand, and the latest to hit the headlines is Yuzvendra Chahal, with a record breaking performance in Australia. Leg spinner Chahal ripped though the Aussies in the last match win, taking six for 42, the best return for any spin bowler in a one day international in Australia. The hosts failed to bat out their overs as Chahal ran riot.
India’s pace attack is the most fearsome in the game at the moment, spearheaded by Mohammed Shami, their most consistent and dangerous pace bowler. And this is a team which can put plenty of runs on the board, with the two best ODI batsmen in the world in Kohli and Rohit Sharma. But it was veteran big hitter MS Dhoni who took the plaudits in Melbourne, scoring an unbeaten 87 to give India a record of six wins in the last eight ODI games. Kohli looked in good nick too, adding a useful 46.
History
The New Zealand vs India results tell a story of a well matched competition between these two teams. They have played each other 20 times since 2010 with India winning 11 to New Zealand’s eight. Kohli’s men won the last series between the two, by 2-1 in India, in a well fought contest.
India is in slightly better form, with the Black Caps winning five of their last nine, though they thoroughly dominated Sri Lanka.
The toss won’t dictate the result at Napier, with five of the last nine ODIs having been won by the chasing side.
Betting tip
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New Zealand vs India | New Zealand Asian Handicap 0.00 @2.35 |
| January 23 10:00 (GMT+8) |
This is a really tough game to call, so I’m going to go for the value in a New Zealand win in the first ODI.
India are clear favourites at 1.60 but they did lose one of their three games in Australia and I rate this New Zealand team higher than their neighbours.
There are some big hitters on show and so, for an alternative bet you can back India to hit the most sixes at 2.00, or New Zealand at 2.10, with the draw at 6.00.
Taylor versus Dhoni, now there’s a battle!
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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