Having conquered Australia in their own den, India prepares to take on New Zealand in the first ODI at Napier on January 23.
When and where to watch the matches on TV, online
The first ODI between New Zealand and India will start at 3 pm local time, 7:30 am IST and 2 am GMT.
Star Sports 1, Star Sports Hindi 1 and their corresponding HD channels will provide the live television coverage of the match in English and Hindi respectively. Live streaming will be available on Hotstar.
India vs New Zealand preview
India has been having a great time in the Southern Hemisphere over the last couple of months, achieving unprecedented feats and creating history. But this series against New Zealand will be tougher than the ones they played against their trans-Tasman rivals, Australia.
Heading into the first match of the series, India will be aware of the combination conundrum that faces them because of cricketing and non-cricketing reasons. For one, they have to take a call on whether they want to play their two spinners on the small grounds or will they opt for the multi-purpose skills of Ravindra Jadeja.
The other question that Virat Kohli will have to answer is whether Ambati Rayudu will be his number 4 batsman in the World Cup. If the answer is in the positive, Rayudu needs to play every game leading up to the tournament. Hence, it will be interesting to see what combination India goes in with.
As for New Zealand, they will hope Doug Bracewell can make the number 7 position his own and replicate his T20 heroics against Sri Lanka in the India series. The hosts also possess one of the most lethal fast bowlers in their ranks in Lockie Ferguson and he might be a key figure in the middle overs.
The key factor from the New Zealand perspective will be how well their top order handles India's spinners. The likes of Martin Guptill and Colin Munro are not historically good players of spin bowling so their skills will be tested.
Kane Williamson will be a key wicket for India as he can play spin and pace with equal ease.
Global TV listings
| New Zealand | SKY Sport NZ |
| UK | Sky Sports Cricket |
| Australia | Fox Sports |
| South Africa | SuperSport |
| Canada | ATN Cricket Plus (Asian Television Network), CBN |
| USA | Willow TV, Hotstar |
| Malaysia | Astro Cricket HD |
| Bangladesh | Gazi TV (GTV) |
