Batting stars Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are back in the mix, while Mohammed Siraj is set to strengthen the pace attack. Their first challenge in th first ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday, though, will be to figure out a ground where the boundaries can be as misleading as the bounce on offer.Eden Park is not your typical cricket ground. It is small, oddly shaped and has dimensions that can leave captains and bowlers scratching their heads. A shot that clears the rope comfortably in one direction might not travel nearly as far in another. For batters, that means knowing which side to target. For bowlers, it is about getting their lengths right and not allowing the short boundaries to dictate their plans.The short boundaries do tempt the batters into mindless slogging, but the pitch usually tells a much sterner story.
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Eden Park’s drop-in tracks are lively and offer steep, tennis-ball bounce. In many ways, it serves as an early, unscripted dress rehearsal for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, where steep lift and seam movement is bound to test Indian techniques. Surviving isn’t just about clearing the straight boundary, it’s about riding the bounce and respecting the new ball.“Ground dimensions is always one to play into your mind at Eden Park. Traditionally, there’s a little bit of bounce, which, you know, is good for the seamers. And it can be quite swirly with the wind, which can make it quite a tough catching ground,” New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said on Tuesday.The wind, in particular, could make life difficult for fielders, especially in the deep. And there is another factor that skipper Gill will be watching closely.The ODIs are scheduled to start at 3pm local time, later than what teams are accustomed to at this venue.Gill was candid about the unfamiliar conditions. “It is my first time that we are playing so late, we are playing at 3pm, so in the second innings, when we are bowling or batting, I don’t know what the conditions will be like, and when you play with two new balls, at night it is possible that there is more swing, more bounce, more seam, and that will be very interesting,” the India captain said.India’s team combination will look considerably different from the one that featured in the T20I series. Rohit and Gill are bound to open, with Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul giving the middle order considerable experience. The presence of these senior players also means India can afford to approach the innings differently, without having to chase the high-risk template of T20 cricket.The bowling combination will be worth watching. Siraj’s experience and Arshdeep Singh’s ability to generate swing could give India a useful pace combination. How they fit in the two spinners, likely to be Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, will depend on the surface and the balance they want in the XI.Conway suffers concussionNew Zealand, meanwhile, have had little luck leading up to the series opener. Mark Chapman and Rachin Ravindra were already ruled out of the series and Devon Conway on Tuesday joined them on the sidelines after suffering a concussion during training.Conway’s absence is another blow to the hosts’ batting plans, with Tim Seifert expected to step in. Skipper Santner will need the experienced trio of Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham and the in-form Glenn Phillips to shoulder more responsibility during the series if the Black Caps do not want to concede home ground.
