India will take on New Zealand in the second of the three-match ODI series. This article provides details about India’s Playing 11 vs New Zealand for the second match of the series.
India Playing XI vs New Zealand- 2nd ODI, New Zealand Tour of India 2026:
Openers: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma
India would put their best foot forward in an attempt to register a win in the second ODI against New Zealand and clinch another series, having already won the first.
The home team would bank on its players to put on a string performance in their respective departments and make things difficult for the opposition.
The onus will be on the openers to lead the batting department of the Men in Blue by getting them off to a good start against the new ball in the first ten overs.
The opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill would wish to lay a platform for the middle-order batters to capitalize on.
Along with that, both batters would hope to have a good outing individually, also with Gill aiming to score another half-century, while Rohit looks to convert the start that he gets in this particular match into a big score.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy
The openers will be followed by a middle order that underwent a little collapse in the last game after a good start given by the top four batters.
The team management would hope for the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and the individual who will replace Washington Sundar in the next match to get the job done.
Having said that, all wasn’t gloomy for India in the batting department with Kohli continuing the good work that he has done in this home season with a score of 93 runs, and was well supported by Shreyas Iyer, who scored 49 runs on his comeback.
The former ODI World Cup winners would want the duo to do more of the same in the second ODI and for other batters to support them in order to put on a more convincing performance in the batting department.
Bowlers: Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
As far as India’s bowling is concerned, it is expected to comprise the same personnel that took the field in the last match, except Washington Sundar, who has been ruled out of the series.
Nitish Kumar Reddy is expected to replace Sundar in the playing XI for the second game and will fulfill the role of sixth bowler.
The new ball is expected to be taken by Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj from either end, and they will be entrusted to provide breakthroughs in the first ten overs, which wasn’t the case in Vadodara.
Having said that, both Harshit and Siraj kept the New Zealand batters in check despite not being able to pick wickets and made a strong comeback when the ball got old and were supported by Prasidh Krishna.
The spin bowling department of India is predicted to feature only two spinners in the form of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
