Big picture: Can New Zealand avoid series defeat?
Just as the ODI format is, this series is sandwiched between the T20Is and the Tests. The former had no competition for attention even though injuries did cripple
New Zealand. The latter is taking away from the ODI series to an extent that what should be an exciting finale to see if
India can consign New Zealand to their first series defeat at home in seven years is being contested by practically the hosts’ A team.
Thanks to injuries and some Test players leaving early for their respective Test camps, 32 players have already played in this series. New Zealand have never used in a series
as many players as they have done in this one: 18. The record for most players used in a series by any team stands at 21.
India have used 14 players themselves, and are without Shubman Gill, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy. They were the last team to topple New Zealand at home following which New Zealand mounted an 11-series winning streak. The streak has ended, but India will dearly love to make it their first bilateral away ODI series win since Gautam Gambhir took over. They have lost in Sri Lanka, Australia and England since then.
The weather should hold up for Sunday, and give ODI cricket one last hurrah before we move onto the real deal on bilateral tours, Test cricket. Henry and Jamieson did enough to whet appetites for the two-Test series through their spells in the first match at Bay Oval.
New Zealand: WLLLW(last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
India: LWWLW
In the spotlight: Finn Allen and Virat Kohli
Through all the injuries and Test preparation, an interesting experiment might be afoot in the New Zealand ODI line-up: what if a dynamic batter can be thrown in the middle order that has Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips?
Find Allen showed promise in the first ODI innings where he did not open: 41 off 30 balls. If Tim Seifert, his T20I opening partner, can cement his place at the top, New Zealand could possibly look at replacing Tom Latham with Allen.
It is pretty certain that, along with Rohit Sharma, this is the last time
Virat Kohli will be playing international cricket in these shores. He might have already played the innings of the series in setting up India’s win in the first match, but has scored 7 and 0 since then. A full house will turn up expecting a fitting farewell. Also for Rohit, who is yet to score a century in New Zealand.
Team news: Jacob Duffy should return
New Zealand will have further changes to their XI with Henry and Jamieson moving to the Test camp. One of those spots should go to
Jacob Duffywith Blair Tickner (if recovered from concussion) and the uncapped Brett Randell competing for the other slot.
Josh Clarkson could replace Kristian Clarke by virtue of being an allrounder.
Mitch Hay and
Dean Foxcroft might be in competition for a batting slot.
New Zealand (probable): 1 Will Young, 2 Tim Seifert (wk), 3 Nick Kelly, 4 Dean Foxcroft/Mitch Hay, 5 Finn Allen, 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Kristian Clarke/Josh Clarkson, 9 Matt Fisher, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Blair Tickner/Brett Randell
Kuldeep Yadav had a disappointing outing in his first match of the tour as the
New Zealand batters targeted him in the middle overs, and has now been removed from the Test squad. He has been
replaced in the Test squad by Gurnoor Brar, but Brar, the top wicket-taker in the ODI series so far, will now miss the fifth ODI. This should make way for
Mohammed Siraj to play his first match of the tour, which could serve as a test of his form going into the Tests.
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Ishan Kishan (wk), 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Auqib Nabi, 9 Mohammed Siraj, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Arshdeep Singh
Pitch and conditions: Do you believe 333 or 89?
Friday was the first successful defence of a total in the last five day-night ODIs at Bay Oval. The way India were bundled for 89 might suggest a pitch that does plenty under the lights, but it also did its share with the new balls in the afternoon. The reality might be somewhere in between. The weather forecast suggests no real threat to the game, but if that were to change, it would make for an interesting decision at the toss.
Source: www.cricinfo.com
