India v New Zealand, 1st ODI, Dharamsala: Kiwis find comfort in Ashwin-Jadeja absence

DHARAMSALA: One look at the practice session and it is evident the Kiwis are a relaxed lot heading into the ODIs. Skipper Kane Williamson, who spoke about being "sort-of scarred" after the Indore Test, was seen sharing a hearty laugh with Corey Anderson and Tim Southee. This was quite a contrast from the sombre mood in the Kiwi camp after the 0-3 whitewash in the Test series.

The picturesque HPCA stadium - with the snowcapped Dhauladhar mountain range as its background - made several Kiwi players go into selfie mode during the training session. The Kiwis do have a reason or two to relax. For one, twin spin terrors Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja - who between them picked up 41 wickets to torment the New Zealanders in the Tests - have been rested from the ODIs. Secondly, the Kiwis are more at ease with the limited-format.

"Our ODI cricket has been good for a quite a while now. We did not play that well in the Test series, but that's in the past. We are going to look at this ODI series and make sure we perform well and finish the tour off on a high. We will be positive going into each game and back our processes and skills," wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi said.