India and New Zealand commenced their three-match ODI series today in Vadodara, marking the start of India's 2026 calendar year in the 50-over format. The match is being played at the BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara. All eyes are on Shubman Gill, who leads the Indian side and aims to solidify his position after a string of setbacks.
Gill's recent form has been under scrutiny, especially after missing out on crucial Test and ODI matches against South Africa due to injury and also getting snubbed for the T20 World Cup team. This series presents a golden opportunity for him to silence critics and reaffirm his importance to the team.
Adding to the excitement, Shreyas Iyer, the vice-captain, also makes his return to the side after recovering from an injury. His presence is expected to bolster the Indian middle order. Iyer is just 83 runs shy of completing 3,000 runs in ODIs. If he reaches the milestone in this series, he could become the fastest Indian to reach 3,000 ODI runs in terms of innings. Gill himself is also approaching the 3,000-run mark, needing 182 runs to achieve the feat.
The return of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli further strengthens the Indian batting lineup. These three ODIs will be their last ODI assignment before the tour of the UK later this year. Kohli is also on the verge of a personal milestone, needing just 25 runs to become the third player to score 28,000 international runs, following Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
However, India faced a setback on the eve of the match with Rishabh Pant ruled out due to an abdominal injury sustained during a practice session. Dhruv Jurel has been named as his replacement in the squad.
India's predicted XI includes Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh. The team management, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, faces a selection dilemma between Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy to fill the void left by Hardik Pandya. Jasprit Bumrah is also unavailable for the series due to workload management ahead of the T20 World Cup.
New Zealand's squad is led by Michael Bracewell and features players like Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, and Glenn Phillips.
The match began at 1:30 PM IST.
