New Zealand aim for improved play vs President's XI (Preview)

After a poor outing in the first practice match against Board President's XI, New Zealand will look for an improved performance in the second cricket match at the Brabourne Stadium here on Friday.

A brilliant show from batsmen Prithvi Shaw (66), K.L. Rahul (68) and Karun Nair (78) helped President's XI to outplay New Zealand by 30 runs in the opening game.

The bowlers also did a superb job and did not allow the Kiwi batsmen to settle in the middle.

Apart from skipper Kane Williamson (49) and Tom Latham (59), no other batsman read the Indian bowlers and faltered against the likes of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (3/41), spinner Karn Sharma and pacer Jaydev Unadkat.

The main cause of worry for the New Zealand is their middle-order batsmen. In the first game, experienced batsmen like Ross Taylor (34), Martin Guptill (22) and Mitchell Santner (26) got the start but failed to convert it into big scores.

The bowling department of the visitors also didn't perform as per expectations. Pacer Trent Boult was the most successful among the nine bowlers New Zealand used. He returned with (5/38).

So, in the upcoming match, the Kiwis would look to improve upon their previous performance in order to give a tough competition in the the first One Day International (ODI) match, scheduled on October 22.

Squads:

Board President's XI team: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), K.L. Rahul, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Karun Nair, Gurkeerat Mann, Prithvi Shaw, Shivam Chaudhary, Milind Kumar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Karn Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Avesh Khan.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (Captain), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, George Worker.

--IANS

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