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Dharamsala: Despite completing a 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand in the Test rubber, India will be wary of the visitors' prowess in the shorter format when both the teams face off in the first of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series here on Sunday.
With the conditions at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium favouring the pacers, New Zealand will bank on their recent ODI performance -- winning four of their last five bilateral competitions, including a recent series win over Australia -- to give a tough fight to the hosts.
Moreover, tourist skipper Kane Williamson has a better squad at his disposal, with the return of pacer Tim Southee and all-rounder Corey Anderson, making them a force to reckon with. Southee was ruled out with a late injury while Anderson's arrival would bolster their misfiring middle-order.
However, Williamson will need runs from two of his most experienced batsmen -- Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill -- who have failed to click so far on this tour.
Guptill, who scored just 159 runs from six innings, will not let those failures affect him in the ODIs. The opener has an average of 43.25 in ODIs with a strike-rate of 86.08, and is one of only five people in world cricket to have scored a double century in 50 overs.
On the other hand, despite being the favourites, India have a comparatively untested side for the first three ODIs. Apart from Ashwin and Jadeja, pacer Mohammed Shami has also been rested.
Injuries to Lokesh Rahul, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan have ruled the trio out, creating chances for promising players like Mandeep Singh, Manish Pandey, Dhawal Kulkarni and Axar Patel -- all of them part of the squad that toured Zimbabwe in India's last 50-over cricket assignment.
Senior batsman Suresh Raina has also been recalled to the squad, but he will miss the first ODI due to viral fever.
The Dharamsala ODI will be followed by matches in Delhi (October 20), Mohali (October 23), Ranchi (October 26) and Visakhapatnam (October 29). All five are day-and-night encounters.
Teams from:
India: MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Dhawal Kulkarni, Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (Capt.), 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).
Stats and trivia
Match facts
16 October 2016 (d/n)
Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT)
