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India vs New Zealand: ODI preview

India leads the series 2-0 with two games to play

By , Editor

· 4 min read

Apex Sports News graphic: India vs New Zealand: ODI preview
Photo: Apex Sports News graphic

India faces New Zealand in the fourth ODI at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. India leads the series 2-0 and cannot lose the series from here.

Key takeaways

  • India leads the series 2-0
  • New Zealand must win to keep hopes of drawing the series alive
  • Bay Oval is known for producing good batting surfaces

India will face New Zealand in the fourth ODI of India's tour of New Zealand in 2026 on 13 November at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. India entered this contest looking to take an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

With two wins from three games, they are already in a strong position and cannot lose the series from here. New Zealand, meanwhile, have no room for error as the ODI series moves to Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

After falling 2-0 behind, they must win this contest to keep their hopes of drawing the series alive. The match will start at 7:30 AM IST.

Team news

Shreyas Iyer will lead India for the first time in an ODI when the fourth match of the series begins at Bay Oval on Friday, November 13.

Iyer will be the country's 29th men's ODI captain, and a win would settle the series with a game still to play. As the third match was washed out, India head into the penultimate game with a 2-0 lead.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the only senior batters left in the group, with Shubman Gill and KL Rahul now preparing for the Test series. Tilak Varma returns as a finisher, while Yash Thakur and Kumar Kushagra could both make their debuts.

Probable line-ups

India: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh. New Zealand: Will Young, Tim Seifert, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham (wk), Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Kristian Clarke, Jacob Duffy.

Form and head-to-head

New Zealand have not won a completed match in the series so far. They were held to 185 in Auckland and bowled out for 134 in Wellington. India have won 8 of the last 10 ODIs against New Zealand, while New Zealand has won 2.

Venue and pitch report

Bay Oval is one of the better batting surfaces in New Zealand. The pitch offers true bounce, and the outfield is quick, and six of the 11 full-length first innings here have produced 280 or more, including three totals above 315.

The new ball still does plenty early, which is why so many sides have been bowled out here. Twelve of the 26 completed innings at the ground have ended with a team all out, and seven of those collapses came inside 47 overs.

The toss has not made a difference either way. Teams batting first have won six of the 13 ODIs here and chasing seven sides, and New Zealand showed in February 2020 that 296 is gettable, reaching 300 for 5 with 17 balls to spare against India.

ODI records at Bay Oval

India will take heart from their record here. They won by 90 runs and by seven wickets in January 2019, and Kuldeep Yadav's 4 for 45 in the first of those games remains the best return by an India bowler at the venue.

The average first-innings score at Bay Oval is 272 across the 11 full-length ODIs played here. The two rain-reduced matches, against Pakistan in April 2025 and England in October 2025, are left out of that figure, as both were cut well short of 50 overs.

Two associate fixtures pull that number down slightly. Canada made 210 against the Netherlands in 2014, and the Netherlands were bowled out for 202 by New Zealand in 2022, and taking those two games out lifts the average first-innings total to 287.

Key ground totals

New Zealand's 371 for 7 against Sri Lanka on January 3, 2019, is the highest total at Bay Oval. Martin Guptill made 138 off 139 balls in that innings, and Sri Lanka's reply of 326 is the second-highest score the ground has seen.

India own the highest first-innings total by a visiting side, the 324 for 4 they made on January 26, 2019, before winning by 90 runs. New Zealand's 300 for 5 against India in February 2020 is the only successful 300-plus chase here.

4 overs against New Zealand on March 29, 2022, is the lowest total at Bay Oval. Canada's 210 against the Netherlands in January 2014 is next, and both of the two lowest scores belong to associate sides.

What happens next

India cannot lose the series from here, while New Zealand must win to keep hopes of drawing the series alive. A win for India would settle the series with a game still to play. The next match will be played on 15 November. The match will be live-streamed on Sony LIV in India.

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