India vs New Zealand World Cup Warm Up - Virat Kohli tipped to continue good form

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 23 May 2019

Ralph Staniforth 23 May 2019

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New Zealand to come up short at The Oval

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Indian cricket captain, Virat Kohli is tipped to continue his good form against New Zealand (Getty Images)

India vs New Zealand World Cup Warm Up Preview, Predictions & Betting Tips

India get their World Cup preparations underway with a warm up match against New Zealand at The Oval in London as we near the Cricket World Cup. A full strength Indian line-up is expected so I’m tipping India to win at 1.57 and for Virat Kohli to continue his good form and be India’s best batsman at 3.00.

India Form & Team News

India’s ODI form has been good for many years now. English conditions won’t faze the Indian side and are thus second favourite behind England to win the World Cup. In the 2017 Champions Trophy in England, India reached the final which they lost to Pakistan by 180 runs.

Since January 2018 India have played 33 ODI’s and won 22 of them. The Indian camp were disappointed in the way they the team capitulated in the last series against Australia before the World Cup in India. Having taken a 2-0 lead in the five match series, India managed to lose the last three matches against the Aussies.

That won’t play on their minds too much. In captain Virat Kohli they have possess the best batsman in the world. He has a great record against New Zealand in ODI’s with an average of 68.52 so I am tipping him to be India’s best batsman against New Zealand at 3.00.

India is likely to be at full strength for this opening warm up clash and will be popular in the outright win market at 1.57.

New Zealand cricket kane williamson odi cricket — Kane Williamson holds the key for New Zealand going intothe 2019 Cricket World Cup(Getty Images)

New Zealand Form & Team News

Gone are the days where New Zealand were the team people feared because they could cause the odd upset. They head into the 2019 World Cup with a well balanced side with bat and ball. They have won 15 of their 24 ODI matches since the start of 2018.

Being a pre tournament warm-up game less focus will be on achieving actual victory, rather choosing to focus on getting individuals into form and working on tactics. But it cannot be understated how important confidence is in any squad so getting a result will not be too far down on the checklist.

Surprise call-up to the World Cup squad, Tom Blundell is likely to make his ODI debut in this match. He has featured in two tests and three T20’s for the Black Caps before and is the reserve wicketkeeper to Tom Latham.

New Zealand may be an outside bet but their team is more balanced than many and they reached the World Cup final in 2015. They are valued at 2.37 win this clash.

India vs New Zealand Head to Head

The last time New Zealand met India was in a five match ODI series as recently as January 2019. The series took place in New Zealand and the hosts came out as 3-2 series winners but since January 2010 they have met in 25 ODI’s with India winning 15.

Recent times have shown this to be a difficult match up to call an outright winner despite India being clear favourites.

India vs New Zealand Match Up

This promises to be an exciting contest between two units who enjoy playing attacking cricket. In Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma India have the top two ODI batsmen in the world while Jasprit Bumrah is at the top of the bowlers rankings.

Much like India, Black Caps captain, Kane Williamson is their finest batsman, however with the likes of Ross Taylor, Tim Southee and Trent Boult the New Zealanders have a team which can beat anyone on any given day.

new zealand vs india men's odi cricket — India have had the better of New Zealand in ODI cricket over the last 10 years (Getty Images)

India vs New Zealand Key Statistics

India is ranked 2nd in the ODI world rankings.
India have won 15 of their last 25 matches against New Zealand (since 2010).
Virat Kohli has a batting average of 68.52 against New Zealand in 22 ODI matches.
Virat Kohli has averaged 90.65 with the bat in ODI’s since the start of 2018.
Virat Kohli is ranked as the best ODI batsman in the world at the moment.

Verdict

India will be full of confidence ahead of this Cricket World Cup. Their ODI form has generally been very good and I believe they will start their warm up campaign with a win over the Black Caps at 1.57.

Virat Kohli’s form suggests that he is primed for a World Cup onslaught so I’m tipping him to get the runs flowing against New Zealand and be India’s best batsman at 3.00

Best Bet: India Win @ 1.57 at bet365 - 3 Units

Top Indian Batsman: Virat Kohli @ 3.00 at bet365 - 1 Unit