2nd ODI: Nitish comes in for India as NZ opt to bowl first; Lennox handed debut

Rajkot, Jan 14 (IANS) India have brought in seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy as New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl in the second ODI here at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Wednesday.

India are leading the three-match series 1-0, after winning the series opener in Vadodara. Nitish slots into the playing eleven after off-spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar was ruled out of the series due to a left rib injury and will be assessed by the BCCI medical team.

“We would actually have preferred to bat first, based on the last few games here. Even yesterday there wasn’t much dew, and the players feel the surface tends to slow down as the innings goes on, so batting first looked the better option. Personally, I felt really good in the last game - the rhythm and fluency were there, and it’s always nice to contribute. Hopefully I can build on that and produce a big one today.

“The middle overs were crucial for us last time. They got off to a decent start, but the way we pulled things back – especially with the fast bowlers picking up wickets in those overs – made a big difference. It’s not always easy in these conditions, but they mixed up their pace and variations really well,” said India skipper Shubman Gill.

New Zealand, meanwhile, have handed a debut to left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox, who replaces leg-spinner Adithya Ashok in the playing eleven. “It looks like a really good surface, and hopefully the dew comes into play later in the evening, which should make things a bit nicer for batting under lights.

“The last game was a tight one and I was proud of how the boys fought right till the end. We gave ourselves a chance with a couple of late wickets, and today we’re looking to keep taking wickets through the middle and build that pressure.

“We’ve got a lot of young players in this side, and playing in front of big crowds and all that noise is a great learning experience for them. It’s different conditions for us here, especially with 40,000 people backing the home side, but it’s a challenge we’re really excited about,” said New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (captain), Zakary Foulkes, Jayden Lennox, Kyle Jamieson, and Kristian Clarke