🏏New Zealand Tour of India 2026: 2nd ODI: At Rajkot on 14/01/26 D/N🏏 - Page 2

Thank you, Raji, for the thread and for tagging me.

Best wishes to both the teams, but, a bit more for Indian team.

To all our cricket fans, followers, and participants, have a happy festive day.

How will Rajkot pitch behave?

The pitch at the Rajkot stadium is known to be very good for batting. All four ODIs played here so far have been won by the team batting first, starting from the first match in 2013. This shows that if a team makes the most of its innings while batting first, the toss may not play a big role. Teams are now used to handling moderate dew in Rajkot.

Kohli in vintage touch

Kohli, who has been putting in intense sessions in the nets, looks in complete control. He appears unburdened by expectations and criticism, batting with freedom and authority. He has shown no hesitation in attacking from the start while ensuring the runs keep flowing. That approach helped him become the fastest to 28,000 international runs during the Vadodara ODI.

Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer hit form

Captain Shubman Gill scored a composed half-century, while vice-captain Shreyas Iyer fell just one run short of his own milestone. A strong batting effort, built on Rohit Sharma's brisk start, should give India the confidence to go hard once again.

Virat Kohli show in Vadodara

Kohli narrowly missed out on a 54th ODI century, but his 91-ball 93 proved crucial even as a brief collapse brought New Zealand back into the game. Still, the Indian think tank is unlikely to be overly concerned, given the gap between the two sides and the visitors' depleted squad.

India eyeing series win

A confident Indian side will look to seal yet another white-ball series while hoping to avoid any further injuries when they take on New Zealand in the second ODI at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday. Despite facing a second-string New Zealand side, the hosts were made to work hard for their victory in the opener in Vadodara.

Thanks for the tag and thread. Common Ind lets win it

Originally posted by: Savera84

🏏New Zealand Tour of India 2026: 2nd ODI: at Niranjan Shah Stadium, Khandheri, Rajkot on 14/01/26 at 1:30 PM IST🏏

After a thrilling beginning to the three-match series, India (IND) and New Zealand (NZ) are once again set to face each other for the second ODI on Wednesday, January 14 in a match that is scheduled to be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot.

The Shubman Gill-led side got off to a winning start to the series after winning in Vadodara. They had won the toss and opted to field first, and the decision seemed spot on, as the Men in Blue chased down the target set by the opposition with an over and four wickets to spare. A win in the upcoming contest would seal the series for them, and that is precisely what the Men in Blue will be playing for on Wednesday.

New Zealand, on the other hand, showed a courageous display with the bat as well as the ball in the first encounter, but the result did not fall in their favour. However, the Michael Bracewell-led side will be wary of the conditions in Rajkot, and will certainly want to come out on top in today's fixture and level the series to keep the fun alive.

Thanks for the tag, Savera ji!

Best of luck team India

Gill: We would have batted first. Yesterday there was no dew. It might get a bit slower. I was feeling very confident when I was batting there. Hopefully it's a big one. They started off pretty well, fast bowlers taking wickets in the middle overs is very rare. Nitish comes in place of Washington.

Bracewell: We are gonna have a bowl first. Great surface here. Jayden Lennox is coming in.

New Zealand have won the toss and have opted to field

New Zealand have won the toss and have opted to field

Pitch Report | Deep Dasgupta and Simon Doull: We are in batting paradise. This is a superb pitch to bat on. Dimensions - 66m and 65m square boundaries, 75m straight down. This is a belter of a pitch. As a bowler, you still got to look to take wickets upfront. The new ball will swing a little bit, it'll move a touch. I'd be tempted to set straighter fields. You want the batters to hit straight, don't give them anything short. Have a theory on being really straight and having those catching men. One of the pitches you can actually hit through the line. Variation of pace is going to be important. Not much dew here. You might want to bat first.

The Kiwis, despite having an inexperienced side, made the Indians toil hard at the Kotambi stadium. Three of their top four batters got to fifties and Kristian Clarke's contribution towards the end took them to a competitive total. For India, all their top four batsmen got starts and were cruising towards a victory but NZ wouldn't go down without a fight. Kyle Jamieson picked three quick wickets to put India under a bit of pressure but the hosts scrapped home with an over to spare. India will be forced to make a change with Washington Sundar ruled out of the series. Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to slot in for him and NZ won't be making any drastic changes either. Promises to be another high-scoring encounter.