Toss

Kane Williamson won the toss in the first ODI at Napier and decided to bat first. Ambati Rayudu returned to the Indian line-up, at the expense of Dinesh Karthik.

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On a high after a defining tour of Australia, the Virat Kohli-led Indian team faces a trickier challenge when it locks horns with an ever-so-sprightly New Zealand in a five-match ODI series starting on Wednesday.

The Indian team, which has shifted its focus entirely on World Cup preparations, is still searching for the right middle-order combination despite their first-ever bilateral ODI series win on Australian soil.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s hat-trick of half-centuries has brought joy to the dressing room but the smaller grounds in New Zealand against a better seam attack comprising the wily Trent Boult, the talented Lockie Ferguson and the relentless Tim Southee will be a different test altogether for India.