India made an explosive start in overcast conditions at Wellington after captain Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to field first against New Zealand in the second ODI on Saturday, 7 November 2026.
Following a rain delay that reduced the contest to 47 overs per side, India’s pace attack wasted no time asserting dominance.
Early Breakthroughs & Maiden Wicket for Auqib Nabi
Arshdeep Singh set the tone for India’s bowling unit by delivering a tight maiden over to opener Will Young, extracting sharp movement under heavy cloud cover.
- Maiden International Scalp: In the second over, fast bowler Auqib Nabi struck with his maiden international wicket, removing opener Tim Seifert for a duck (0).
- Wicket Breakdown: Seifert mistimed a shot off Nabi, offering a comfortable catch to Anshul Kamboj at mid-point to leave New Zealand reeling at 0/1 in 1.5 overs.
- New Zealand Selection Blow: The hosts suffered a major pre-match setback with key opener Devon Conway ruled out due to a concussion.
Playing XIs & Match Conditions
Due to the delayed start, match rules have been adjusted: two bowlers per side can bowl a maximum of 10 overs, while the remaining bowlers are limited to 9 overs.
- India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh.
- New Zealand Playing XI: Will Young, Tim Seifert, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (WK), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (C), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner.
India leads the series following a strong performance in the opener and will look to push for a decisive advantage as the pace attack continues to press New Zealand’s top order.
