Pune ODI: Kiwis ask India to bowl first

New Zealand won the toss and asked India to bowl first in the penultimate second ODI of the three-match series at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Wednesday.

Prior to the match, pitch curator Pandurang Salgaoncar was banned by MCA president Abhay Apte after he was found to be giving inside information to the reporters, disguised as bookies.

In a sting operation done by a leading news production house, Salgaonkar was caught on camera revealing that the pitch will be made according to their ('bookies') demands.

According to the BCCI and the International Cricket Council (ICC), rules state that no one - other than the officials - can come inside the stadium or inspect the pitch for that matter.

For now, the BCCI's neutral curator from Mumbai has taken charge, while the board's anti-corruption unit head Neeraj Kumar has also been asked to submit his report. The MCA has also been asked to submit a report to the BCCI.

As far as the squads are concerned, India have made one change - Axar Patel comes in for Kuldeep Yadav.

New Zealand have decided to go with the unchanged side that clinched a six-wicket win in the opening match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

After going down 0-1 in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, India will aim to bounce back when they take on the Kane Williamson-led side in the second match here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium later today.

The Men in Blue have rarely been in such a situation in the ODI series in the recent past, but a six-wicket defeat at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has put the hosts trailing in the series.

The opening game's result came as a surprise as India have been performing exceedingly well at home, having recently defeated world champions Australia 4-1 in the five-match series.

Now, India have to win the second game if they want to keep themselves alive in the three-match series.

Meanwhile, if the Virat Kohli-led side loses the encounter in Pune, it will be their first home series defeat since South Africa outplayed them 3-2, two years ago.

New Zealand, on the other hand, are boosted with confidence following their victory in Mumbai and will aim to seal their maiden series win in India going into the upcoming match.

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

New Zealand Playing XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (w), Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.