New Zealand vs India, 3rd ODI: Shikhar Dhawan’s tourists eye series-leveling win in Christchurch
India will look to head home with a victory in their bag as they take on New Zealand in the 3rd and final ODI in Christchurch on Wednesday, November 30.
India won the T20I series 1-0 and are trailing in the ODI series 0-1 but they have an opportunity to square the series in the finale.
India had lost the ODI series 3-0 in New Zealand in February 2020 and the tourists are looking to avoid a second successive ODI series defeat against the World Cup finalists. Notably, India have lost 5 ODIs on the trot to New Zealand before the 2nd match of the ongoing series was washed out due to rain.
However, both India and New Zealand will keep an eye on the weather forecast as rain is expected to play spoilsport on Wednesday. The weather gods haven’t shown any mercy during the ongoing tour with rain being a constant presence during the T20I series as well. The series opener of the T20I rubber was washed out without a bal bowled.
The final T20I saw only 28.4 overs bowled while the 2nd ODI had only 12.5 overs of action. It has been a tricky tour for the team management as they have not been able to give opportunities to the players on the bench in the absence of captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
The likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Sanju Samson have got limited opportunities. Samson played the first ODI but he was dropped in the 2nd to accommodate an extra bowling option in Deepak Hooda. India went in with only 5 bowlers in the ODi series opener and paid the price as they were not able to defend 306.
India are unlikely to make any sweeping changes to the XI as they will look to give the current XI another go. It remains to be seen if Kuldeep Yadav gets a game ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal, considering the lack of opportunities for the left-arm wrist-spinner.
PRESSURE ON PANT?
While Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill and Shreyas iyer have looked looked solid at the top, India would want more from Rishabh Pant in the middle-order. The young wicketkeeper-batter has had an ordinary tour, managing just 17 runs in 2 T20Is and 15 in the first ODI.
It’s important Pant bats freely in the middle-order and helps the team make use of the good starts from Dhawan and Gill. Pant will be confident despite the recent lean patch as he has been more at home in the ODI format than the T20I format. The wicketkeeper-batter has scored 326 runs in 11 matches at an average of over 40 in 2022.
Washington Sundar’s quickfire 37 (16 balls) in the first ODI has given the team management the license to opt for an extra bowling option and Deepak Hooda would be keen on meking a crucial contribution with both bat and ball and keep himself in contention in the ODI format.
Deepak Chahar is likely to play ahead of Shardul Thakur as India will be hoping for early wickets to make inroads into a strong New Zealand batting order.
On the other hand, New Zealand would want their opener Finn Allen to fire as the youngsters has not been in the best of forms in white-ball cricket in the recent past.
However, in Kane Williamson and Tom Latham New Zealand have two in-form batters who form the pillars of the batting unit. Latham was in exceptional form in the first ODI, scoring 145 not out while Williamson chipped in with an unbeaten 94 to steer them home.
With crucial ODI Super League points up for grabs, New Zealand will be charged-up to make sure they take the series 2-0 and take another step closer to direct qualification for India 2023. Regardless of the result on Wednesday, New Zealand unbeaten streak in home ODIs since January 2019 will extend.
HAGLEY OVAL PITCH AND CONDITIONS
The Hagley Oval, which will host a day-night ODI for only the second time, will offer a hard pitch that is expected to aid the batters and the fast bowlers. However, it remains to be seen how the rain impacts the conditions on Wednesday.