The Champions Trophy is just round the corner and teams are gearing up for the upcoming ICC event with some warm-up matches. India will play their first practice match against New Zealand at Kennington Oval in London on Sunday.
Considering all the Indian players, besides R Ashwin, were involved in the Indian Premier League 2017, there is a serious need for them to get out of their T20 mode and prepare for the ODI contest. Hence, this practice matches have come in at the right time for India to get acquainted with English conditions ahead of the main event.
India will not field the full strength squad against New Zealand with Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma unavailable for the match. The left-hander is recovering from a viral fever, and the Mumbai player will only join the squad on Sunday. Both players are expected to feature in the second warm-up game against Bangladesh.
"The BCCI Medical Team confirms that Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh who is presently down with viral fever is making steady progress. There are no major health concerns and he is recuperating well, to the satisfaction of the medical team." BCCI said in a media release.
Indian players, who will take to field on Sunday, will hope to make good use of the opportunity. Especially Virat Kohli, who has not been in the greatest of form in the last four months or so, will be keen to score and move into the Champions Trophy with runs under his belt. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav will look to make use of this warm-up match too.
It will be interesting to see how the in-form pacers perform against New Zealand. It remains to be seen which pacers will get to play against New Zealand. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah had an impressive IPL, so they will be eager to get cracking. With R Ashwin, having not played in the IPL, the off-spinner will also be raring to go.
Though India have a solid team, New Zealand have always been a strong team in ICC events. The Black Caps, led by Kane Williamson, have a good mix of players- both experienced and young blood- who will look to gain confidence from the match against India.
Like India, this is New Zealand's first warm-up game. They will be eager to shine and beat India, which can give them a further confidence to do well in the Champions Trophy. With players like Williamson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, they have the ammunitions to come out on top.
Both teams will not take this match lightly despite being a warm-up match. It can set the tone for the Champions Trophy.
Where to follow live:
India vs New Zealand match is set to begin at 10.30 pm BST, 3 pm IST. The match can be viewed live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports Hindi, with live streaming on Hotstar.
You can follow the warm-up game live on the ICC Website match centre.
