New Zealand will take on Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Sunday, January 5. Amid the Test season, this white-ball series, first the T20Is and now as many 50-over matches might feel out of place but mind you, they are not, especially the latter. New Zealand lost to this very opposition in the ODI series in Sri Lanka a couple of months ago, there's a tri-series and a Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in the next couple of months and playing a few ODIs would do no harm, not only to zero in on most of their line-up but also get a hang of playing 100-over matches.
The Kiwis won the T20I series but Sri Lanka with the way Kusal Perera lit up Saxton Oval, will take some momentum into the ODIs. Having been in such great form beating New Zealand, India and the West Indies in ODIs, Sri Lanka will be keen to stay on the winning ways but the challenge will be the alien conditions in New Zealand. All those ODI series wins were at home and New Zealand conditions will throw up a different challenge. Although Sri Lanka haven't qualified for the Champions Trophy, they have gotten a good white-ball core under Charith Asalanka and would want to continue the good work as they build up for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
When and where to watch NZ vs SL ODI series on TV and OTT in India?
The three-match ODI series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka will kick off in Wellington on Sunday, January 5 at 3:30 AM IST with the remaining matches scheduled for January 8 and 11. The series opener is a day game and hence will have an early 3:30 AM IST start with the remaining two games in Hamilton and Auckland set to kick off at 6:30 AM IST. The NZ vs SL series will have a live broadcast on TV in India on the Sony Sports Network and the live streaming will be available on the SonyLiv app and website.
The matches can also be live streamed on the Amazon Prime Video app and website.
Squads
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Mitchell Hay, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Will Young
Sri Lanka: Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamidu Wickramasinghe, Asitha Fernando, Mohamed Shiraz, Lahiru Kumara, Eshan Malinga
