New Zealand vs India 2019: 7 milestones that can be achieved in the ODI series

India capped off their historic tour down under with a thrilling final over win at Melbourne courtesy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to win the three-match ODI series against the Aussies 2-1. Now, they will travel to New Zealand to play five ODIs and three T20Is over the next few weeks with the first one starting at Napier on January 23rd.

India has an almost settled look to the team, other than that, this team which was selected for the ODI series in New Zealand which is as same as the one selected for Australia, will most probably the one which heads to the World Cup, barring a few spots which will depend upon form and fitness.

The only changes done to the team is due to the unfortunate suspension of the duo KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya for whom Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar were called in as replacements.

India's Squad for the ODI series against New Zealand:

Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami

There are some records and milestones that can be achieved by the players from both the sides in this ODI series.

---

#5 Mohammed Shami approaching 100 wickets in ODIs

Mohammed Shami

When Mohammed Shami first arrived at the world stage, he was viewed more as a white-ball bowler. His records in limited-overs cricket for India, particularly ODIs, have been very good but injury concerns made his presence in the coloured clothing little less than it should have.

Although Mohammed Shami has played only 55 ODI matches for the country, he is a vastly experienced Test bowler who will be more than handy in the English conditions.

He recently made his return to the ODI format as the selectors want an experienced pacer to bolster the bowling attack and don't want to solely rely on Bhuvi and Bumrah.

His performances in the ODI series against Australia (he took five wickets) were promising enough to indicate that he might be the third pacer that India will pick for the world cup.

Shami requires just a scalp to complete 100 wickets in ODIs.

#4 Ravindra Jadeja scoring 2000 ODI runs

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja's batting has been up and down during the course of his career so far. While he has a good domestic record, but he has not been able to translate them in International cricket. But, he is showing some form of batting resurgence in the past couple of months.

It all started for Jadeja in the final Test match at England where he scored a quick fire 80 following which he made a triumphant comeback to the ODI team in the Asia Cup and never looked back since then. He notched up his maiden Test century in his home ground of Rajkot against West Indies and even in Australia, he performed well with both bat and the ball.

His contributions with the bat in any format are valuable to the team apart from his usual left-arm spinners which fetches him wickets.

Ravindra Jadeja is just 10 runs shy of reaching 2000 runs mark with the bat in ODIs to add to his tally of 171 wickets.

#3 Kedar Jadhav playing his 50th ODI and crossing 1000 ODI runs

Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav has been a useful cricketer for India in his short career. Though primarily a batsman, he was given a fresh lease of life by MS Dhoni when he was asked to bowl in an ODI against New Zealand held in India.

Thus, India found a new partnership breaker in Kedhar Jadhav who has not bowled even in first-class matches for his state Ranji team till then. Injuries have kept him out action for the most part of last year, but he is back and he is in good form.

Kedar played a crucial hand with MS Dhoni in helping India clinch the three-match series 2-1 against the Aussies. This will take him a long way forward as far his chances at the world cup is concerned.

Given the way that Kedar Jadhav played in the last ODI, he is certain to make his 50th ODI appearance for the country, and also has a chance to complete 1000 runs in his ODI career. So far he has scored 945 runs in 32 innings at an average of 45 with two tons.

#3 Shikhar Dhawan crossing 5000 run mark in ODI cricket

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan, who is also known fondly as Gabbar, is on the verge of completing a great milestone in his career. Dhawan has scored 4990 runs in just 117 innings at an outstanding average of almost 45 scoring 15 ODI centuries and is only 10 runs short of 5000-run mark.

If he achieves 5000 in the next game, he will be joint fourth fastest along with Brian Lara to achieve the landmark. But in the series against Australia was not that good for him as he failed to capitalize on good starts which he would like to rectify against New Zealand.

The ODI stalwart will be looking forward to this series with great interest as these are the last few games for India before the much-awaited world cup commences, and the Indian fans too will require Dhawan at his best along with Rohit Sharma.

#2 Ross Taylor scoring 8000 runs in ODI cricket.

Ross Taylor

Ross Taylor is one of the most underrated cricketers ever to have played for New Zealand. He always scores runs but is under the shadow for somebody else throughout his career like a more popular Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori and now Kane Williamson hogging the limelight.

He is on the verge of becoming only the second New Zealand batsman to score over 8000 ODI runs after Stephen Flemming (8007 runs) in their ODI history. Ross Taylor has currently 7714 runs in 195 innings at an average of close to 48 and needs 280 odd runs to complete the landmark.

If he does achieve the landmark within the next 5 innings against India, he will become the third-fastest behind Virat Kohli (175) and AB de Villiers (182) to cross it. The right-handed batsman is in good form in the recent past and this 5 match ODI series may be more than enough for him.

#2 Rohit Sharma playing his 200th ODI and crossing 8000 ODI runs

The Hitman of Indian cricket

Rohit Sharma, like Virat Kohli, is a master of the limited overs format. For all the frustrations that the fans had to endure because of poor outings in the initial phase of his career, Rohit has more than made up for it with his absolute domination over the past couple of years.

Rohit is incredibly consistent after the last world cup and he has scored a century in each of the last 10 ODI series he has played which is really a great stat. This shows his hunger for big runs but he has failed to replicate the same success in Tests so far.

Rohit Sharma has so far played in 196 ODIs for India and is every bit sure to get his 200th cap in this series and achieve 8000 runs in the format.

Rohit has so far scored 7639 runs in 190 innings at an average of 48 and is in the race to be the third fastest to achieve the landmark along with Ross Taylor.

#1 Virat Kohli scoring fifty 50s in ODIs

King Kohli

Virat Kohli has had one of his best tours as a captain yet after an unbeaten return from Australia. India became just the first touring side to have not lost either a Test series or an ODI series in Australia. Now he is all set to lead the team on a short tour to New Zealand.

As a player, he is set to reach another milestone. He needs a couple of 50 plus scores to complete fifty 50s in his ODI career. He has a total of 48 fifties to go with the 39 centuries he has scored so far in 219 One-day internationals that he has played for India. This is a feat that not a lot players have achieved and he will be just the sixth Indian to reach this landmark.

He has an incredible record against having scored 5 ODI centuries against the Black Caps in just 19 matches and crossing fifty '50s is going to be a just a matter of time for Kohli.