IND vs NZ 1st ODI 2020: Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal Becomes Fourth Debutant Opening Pair for India in ODIs
Skipper Virat Kohli announced that Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw will open the innings for their side. By this, the two players became the fourth debutant opening pair for India. The previous three pair being, Sudhir Naik and Sunil Gavaskar in 1974 against England, Parthasarthi Sharma and Dilip Vengsarkar in 1976 vs New Zealand.
Many records were made and broken during India’s 5-0 triumph against New Zealand in T20I series and the ODI series could also witness many more feats too. However, one record was registered during the toss of first India vs New Zealand T20I at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. Skipper Virat Kohli announced that Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw will open the innings for their side. By this, the two players became the fourth debutant opening pair for India. The previous three pair being, Sudhir Naik and Sunil Gavaskar in 1974 against England, Parthasarthi Sharma and Dilip Vengsarkar in 1976 vs New Zealand and, KL Rahul and Karun Nair in 2016 against Zimbabwe. New Zealand Vs India, Cricket Score 1st ODI Match.
Well, opening the innings is certainly not an easy job in any format as one has to face the swinging new ball and has the onus of giving their side a good start. Nevertheless, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw has played some magnificent knocks at the domestic level and hence, they were drafted into the national team. Interestingly, both the players were not in the original squad and came as replacements. Shaw was selected in the side after Shikhar Dhawan got ruled out of the tour due to a shoulder injury while, Agarwal came after Rohit’s unfortunate injury during the fifth T20I of the series.
Speaking of the match, Tom Latham won the toss and opted to bowl. Well, the home side is also dented by injuries as star players Kane Williamson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson will not be seen in action. Nevertheless, they will not want to disappoint their home crowd once again and will look to put up a better show in the 50-over format. On the other hand, Virat Kohli and Co will aim to extend their golden run by clinching the ODI series too.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 05, 2020 08:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).