India are all set to play their first warm-up game in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Saturday. They will take the field against New Zealand at the Kennington Oval in London.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has won the toss and they will be batting first. The cricket fans and pundits were eagerly waiting to watch who among KL Rahul and Vijay Shankar would bat at No 4. However, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder sustained an injury on Friday and hence, has been rested. Kedar Jadhav will also be missing out.
“Looks like a pitch with some grass on it and you want to put yourself in tough situations in warm-up games. Was overcast a while back, but now it's sunny again,” said Kohli at the toss.
“A little bit of seam would be good throughout the game for bowlers to get into a zone and batsmen to play a compact innings. The warm-up games give you the opportunity for match practice, which is the best kind of practice. Short and sharp. Even if you're content getting to fifty, and walk off, then that's good,” he added.
On the other hand, New Zealand have benched Matt Henry and Tom Latham will not feature in today’s match.
“Hopefully it offers a bit first up. The surface will be a bit demanding for the top order but that's what it’s all about, getting in some match practice and getting into the main competition. Guys are really excited now to get back into the one-day mode against one of the stronger sides,” said Williamson.
Here are the teams:
New Zealand: Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson(c), Tom Blundell(w), Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Henry Nicholls, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Lokesh Rahul, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal