International Cricket will return to McLean Park in Napier after two summers when the first ODI between New Zealand and India will be played on Wednesday, January 23, 2019.

The game will begin at 3:00 PM NZDT, 7:30 AM IST. The last time India travelled to New Zealand in 2014, they lost the series 4-0, while the last series in India had been won by the hosts 2-1.

Live updates:

India 1/0

New Zealand 157 all-out

Both the sides are strong contenders for the World Cup later this year and this series is expected to be a great preparatory contest for them.

Star Sports live broadcast details

Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD will broadcast the NZ vs IND 1st ODI live for the Indian viewers in the English language. Star Sports 1 Hindi and Star Sports 1 Hindi HD will telecast the game in the Hindi language.

DD National will also provide the television coverage in India. Hotstar will stream the entire series on its app and website. Sky Sports NZ holds the broadcast rights in New Zealand.

Read: India vs Australia 3rd ODI live online stream on Sony Six at 7 AM IST

India's no. 4 conundrum continues

India had opted not to play Ambati Rayudu in the last ODI of the Australia series, as MS Dhoni batted at no.

4, with Kedar Jadhav batting at no. 5. According to the Cricbuzz report, captain Virat Kohli mentioned that he would like to carry forward with the Rayudu-Dhoni-Karthik at position 4, 5 and 6.

It will be interesting to what will the think tank go within the first ODI here. India also needs to fix a bowling unit, and with Hardik Pandya missing out, it's difficult to predict one right now.

Shubnam Gill has added to the squad, but it is unlikely that the youngster will be added to the XI in the first game itself.

De Grandhomme and Bracewell fight for one spot

New Zealand team will welcome Tom Latham back in the side and he is likely to slot in at no.

5, behind Ross Taylor. New Zealand also has Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi in the mix to choose a spinner from, but the latter is likely to get a nod against India. Doug Bracewell and Colin de Grandhomme will contest for one spot in the side, while it will be interesting to who partners Trent Boult in bowling the new ball. Like Kohli, Kane Williamson also has a problem of plenty going into this series.

Napier is likely to experience an entire day of sunshine as international cricket returns to McLean Park.

According to the Cricbuzz report, the pitch should be flat for batting considering that three of the four innings played in the recent Super Smash T20 competition had seen teams score over 200 runs. The drainage system has improved, which may actually make the pitch slightly slower due towards the end of an innings.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED