The defending champions England will play the curtain raiser of the ODI World Cup 2023 against the previous edition’s runners-up at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Thursday. The Three Lions recently defeated the Kiwis by 3-1 in a four-match ODI series and the Jos Buttler-led team will aim to make a winning start to their title defense.

On the other hand, the Blackcaps have always punched above their weight in the major ICC events and they have the team to clinch their maiden ODI World Cup title. New Zealand have made it to the final of the previous two editions of the ODI World Cups and they will be looking to go one step further on this occasion.

Both of these teams will look to make a winning start to their campaign and come up with a collective effort. England has a lot of match-winners in their team and they are expected to play aggressively throughout the tournament.

The return of Ben Stokes has definitely added more power to the reigning champions and he would want to be at his absolute best.

Meanwhile, Kane Williamson will hold the key for New Zealand and he will want to lead from the front. Furthermore, the Kiwis have quality all-rounders in their team such as James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell, and Rachin Ravindra, who all will play a key role.

Match Prediction: England will enter the contest as slight favorites against New Zealand.

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.