The Match Preview

Venue: The Ageas Bowl Cricket Ground, Southampton, the United Kingdom
Date: 18th to 22nd June 2021
Time: 3:30 P.M. IST onwards

The Pitch Report

The Ageas Bowl pitch shall have good bounce, pace and carry through to the wicketkeeper. If there are overcast conditions, there might be a bit of swing for the faster bowlers. If the pitch basks enough throughout the match duration, spinners would come to the fore as the pitch starts to break up and cracks begin to be visible on the surface. Southampton has been a happy hunting ground for both batsmen and bowlers. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin would relish bowling on this surface. There won't be much grass on the surface that might've aided seam bowlers. 

Team News

India

• Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are all set to be the openers.

• Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane would make up the middle order.

• Rishabh Pant would keep wickets.

• The all-rounders are set to be Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.

• The fast bowlers would consist of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj.
  

New Zealand

• The openers are set to be Devon Conway and Tom Latham.

• The middle-order will consist of  Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, and BJ Watling.

• With T Boult back, the fast-bowling attack will most likely consist of him alongside K Jamieson, N Wagner and T Southee.

• Daryl Mitchell, R Ravindra, and C D Grandhomme will compete for the role of an all-rounder.

Weather Forecast

The weather at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, the United Kingdom, is forecast to be gloomy, murky and chilly. There is a 64% chance of rain tomorrow. Temperatures will reach a high of 21 degrees Celsius and a low of 13 degrees Celsius. The relative humidity is expected to be 48%. Winds will also blow at a maximum speed of 13 kilometres per hour from the northwest to the southeast.

Predicted Match XIs

India's Predicted Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami

New Zealand's Predicted Playing XI: Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling(wk), Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel