India will count on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to show the way again

From all indications so far, India have decided to bank on those assets, and place their bet on veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

The two battle-starved stars allayed fears of their ageing reflexes with a sharp display on the field in New Zealand. And it’s on the field that senior players often set the standard. Rohit Sharma ran out Daryl Mitchell with a sharp throw while Virat Kohli took a diving catch at second slip before his 74 off 51 settled a rain-shortened chase in the first ODI. The two were the centre of attention on Wednesday, and will be once again on Friday in the second ODI at Hnry Stadium, Wellington.

With rain threatening the fixture, weather interruptions could dictate the second straight match, adding to the challenge for both sides. Equations will change with every break, testing players’ adaptability.

It is where experienced men like Kohli and Rohit hold the key. Having experienced these situations many times in their careers, seasoned players know how to react better.

Kohli’s masterful display in the rain-affected first ODI was a perfect example of the senior pro showing the way in tough, bouncy batting conditions. He took control, calmed the nerves and maintained focus amid the stop-start play.

Along with Kohli, Rohit is a giant of the 50-overs format. With 35 hundreds, he has nothing left to prove. He came into the New Zealand series, in the middle of a great run with scores of 92, 101, 32 and 138 in his previous four innings.

At this stage of his career, however, the 39-year-old is facing a different kind of pressure where every failure is magnified. The only way to deal with it is to keep the runs coming. It is a long series but he knows how the pressure can quickly build. After falling for a duck in the first over in the first game, Rohit will be keen to make amends and keep the critics at bay.

Playing in New Zealand, ground dimensions vary at almost every venue, requiring visiting teams to do significant homework to figure out the right bowling plans and field placements. It will be the case at Hnry Stadium. The venue for the second ODI is almost the opposite of Eden Park. If in Auckland, the straight boundaries were short, in Wellington, the square boundaries are short while the straight boundaries are longer.

"Dimensions in New Zealand are different at every ground we go," New Zealand fast bowler Blair Tickner said on the eve of the match. "Obviously this is a lot shorter square, and then straight's quite long, so it's completely different to Eden Park, so we probably take that, especially in our death bowling, because in one-day cricket you obviously try and take wickets early with more traditional bowling, but definitely at the death we talk about different plans... although I won't tell ya!"

India’s pace bowlers have shown they can be more difficult to handle for the Kiwi batters in pace-friendly conditions. In the opening ODI, on a bouncy pitch, fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Anshul Kamboj were relentless with their interrogation of the batters and bowled New Zealand out for 185.

They will enjoy the fast-bowling friendly conditions in Wellington too. It is usually windy and Tickner was looking forward to the nip in the wicket while pointing to the scores of the last ODI played at Wellington, played in November 2025, when England were reduced to 44/5 batting first.

"We saw it last year against England as well. There was a little bit more in the wicket then, especially here. As a bowler, I'm hoping for that. I don't want to be at a game where 400 chase 400, so I'm looking forward to a bit of extra bounce, hopefully a bit of nip off the wicket,” said Tickner.

Even though India had a perfect bowling performance in the first game, they have a tough selection call to make with the availability of Mohammed Siraj.

In the first game, Arshdeep and Brar, used the short ball effectively to cause sharp damage, sharing seven wickets between them. Kamboj took two wickets for just 22 runs in 10 overs, and extracted impressive seam movement right until his last over.

The 32-year-old Siraj is India’s most experienced bowler after Jasprit Bumrah with 51 ODIs under his belt. When in rhythm, he is a different proposition. He looked sharp in the India A Test match.

Toss becomes crucial in rain-affected games. India had the better of the toss in overcast conditions in the first ODI, and they made it count.