Hello, fantasy cricket and Dream11 lovers. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for – the first game of India’s tour of New Zealand, but their never ending tour of the Australian continent. Before we get into team selection, I’d just like to point out that by now, Team India would be completely used to conditions in that part of the world, so I’m expecting a great competition between these two. Hopefully an Indian victory too!
Virat Kohli?
Now let’s make one thing very sure. You can’t win millions in fantasy cricket if you’re always selecting Virat Kohli in your team. Not only is he a part of 95% fantasy teams for almost every match, but he is also the captain of over 70% teams. So don’t get too happy if you select Kohli as captain and he scores a century, because everyone else is scoring as many points as you are.
They key here is to drop Kohli and select a cheaper replacement. Or just pick him as a regular player. As much as a Kohli fan that I am, the day he doesn’t perform is your chance of scoring big in the fantasy leagues. Spend that money on both openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, as these are the three main expensive Indian players.
Batsmen, batsmen, batsmen…
I can’t stress how important it is to go with as many batsmen as your fantasy sports provider allows. New Zealand grounds are small and the last time these two squared off here, we saw a number of 300+ totals. Tom Latham returns to bolster New Zealand and he could be a cheaper bet as compared to the hard hitting opening duo of Martin Guptill or Colin Munro. Please remember to pick Ross Taylor who has six consecutive fifties, which is a serious achievement. As for Kane Williamson, he is the same as Kohli. Expensive and picked by everyone.
Wicket-keeper
Here’s a tricky pick, as Latham comes under the wicket-keeper category. Let me tell you for a fact that he will be batting higher than an MS Dhoni, but given that India’s middle order is very weak and inexperienced, I’m expecting Dhoni to be batting up the order each time this series.
Coupled with the fact that he makes more dismissals behind the stumps, is the stat which shows three consecutive fifties in Australia. Go MSD! However, this decision could be a vital one, as Latham has proved to be a game changer in previous India vs New Zealand encounters, so choose wisely.
My fantasy XI:
MS Dhoni (wk), Kane Williamson, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Rohit Sharma, Colin Munro (vc), Ross Taylor, Mitchell Santner, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammad Shami, Trent Boult, Tim Southee.
For more updates on India’s tour of New Zealand, keep reading ReadScoops.com.
