India v New Zealand Second ODI Tips: Hitman still value at_7/2

• India lead series 1-0

• New Zealand to struggle again
• Rajkot surface may be one for batters
• Rohit standout bet to deliver
• Ed has a Betfair Exchange trade angles

India v New Zealand
Wednesday January 14, 08.00
TV: Live on TNT

India v New Zealand second ODI team news

India have lost Washington Sundar to injury. Rather surprisingly they have called up Ayush Badoni as his replacement. Badoni is primarily a batter who bowls part-time spin. It's not great news for the prospects of Axar Patel who would have been a like-for-like.

Badoni will be in contention to play if the Rajkot surface takes spin. If not, Nitish Kumar Reddy's all-round skills will be called on.

There was no place for Arshdeep Singh in game one with Mohammed Siraj preferred. 

Possible India XI: Rohit, Gill, Kohli, Iyer, Rahul, Jadeja, Badoni/Reddy,  Harshit, Kuldeep, Siraj, Prasidh

New Zealand, as stated previously, have a reserve team for this contest. There's no Tom Latham, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Mitch Santner, Matt Henry or Jacob Duffy. In defeat in game one they looked like a team which lacked experience.

They had a great platform to go and build a monster target but there just wasn't the power in the middle- and lower-order. Daryl Mitchell, as predicted, ended up carrying the batting. Glenn Phillips must get up to speed quickly after a long hiatus while there is also a lot of pressure on Michael Bracewell.

Possible New Zealand XI: Conway, Nicholls, Young, Mitchell, Phillips, Hay, Bracewell, Foulkes, Jamieson, Clarke, Ashok

India v New Zealand second ODI pitch report

There have been only four ODI in Rajkot, spanning 2013 to 2023. Three of the four first-innings have busted 300 or more. India defended 340 versus Australia in 2020 and then the Aussies hit back three years later winning after posting 352. Still, the study sample is nowhere near big enough to bet with confidence, even though we suspect this will be batter-friendly.

India really should be pusing on for 330 or more against this Kiwi attack. Their par line may come in at around the 320 mark. With worries about New Zealand being capable of consistent runscoring, shorting their runs during a partnership could be canny. From 117 for no wicket in the 22nd they should have busted more than 300. 

India v New Zealand second ODI match prediction

India are 1.1211/8 for victory from 1.171/6. It's obviuously a mismatch so we have to be creative in ways to play the match odds. But given the starting prices, there needs to be a significant effort by New Zealand if they are to trade skinnier.

For game one we did suggest planning for three points out of their price if they were to bat first. That came to pass but, in truth, the easiest way to plan for a repeat would be just to back overs on their runs for a straightforward even money win. Their par line might not get up past 280.

In an ideal world New Zealand would go big, post 350 and then we might be able to get with the hosts in a choice affair in the chase. Yhey get anything batting second.

India v New Zealand second ODI player bets

Our top-rated bet is Rohit Sharma to top score for India. We had a nice winner on Mitchell doing the same for New Zealand so feel that we are reading the market nicely. Of course, we were on for Rohit to do the business but see no reason to lose faith. Rohit is the most consistent in the market in the world in this format with a two-year win rate of 39%. That's a massive chunk in our favour with Sportsbook's 7/24.50. Rohit tuned up nicely in game one and we would expect him to be better for the run, as is often the case. 

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