India has failed to click as a unit in the two matches so far. (AFP)
Fired-up New Zealand are confident they can secure a third successive victory against powerful India in Auckland today and wrap up the one-day international series with two matches to spare. The tourists arrived in New Zealand top of the world rankings but were beaten by 24 runs in the series opener in Napier and went down by 15 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method in Hamilton.
India got back their No.1 spot again after Australia went down to England in Perth yesterday. But another loss today against the Kiwis will not only push them back to No. 2 but also cost them the series. While a win for New Zealand would lift the hosts above the West Indies and into seventh place.
“That’s two of the best team performances we’ve had for a long time and to back it up game after game is what good sides do. They perform consistently and that’s where we’re aiming to be,” said senior bowler Tim Southee.
“We’ve showed glimpses in the past but we needed consistency. It’s not just individuals standing up, it’s everyone standing up at different times. That’s the sign of a good side, not relying on the same people every game.”
The New Zealand blueprint calls for the team to go into the final 15 overs with seven wickets in hand. It means Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill can charge at the start of the innings, leaving Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to consolidate before unleashing the big-hitting Corey Anderson, Brendon McCullum and Luke Ronchi.
The bowlers have a licence to attack, and while it may cost them runs it does produce wickets, particularly with India’s senior batsmen struggling against short-pitched deliveries.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said his side will not shelve the troublesome hook shot and suggested that in Wednesday’s second game in Hamilton, the lack of a good start to the innings from openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma cost his team. “The openers should have carried on for a bit longer, played a few more shots and scored a few more runs,” he said.
Indications are that India are unlikely shake up the opening combine, with Dhawan and Rohit set to get another go in a bid to recreate the magic that characterised their early days together.
Kohli, the danger man
Virat Kohli, coming in at first wicket down, is the danger man for India, with scores of 123 and 78 in the first two games. “He’s one of the best, if not the best one-day player going around. In the first two games he adapted to conditions quickly and we know we’ve got our work cut out,” said Southee.
Taylor issued a simple tweet on how the New Zealanders felt about the Indian star: “Anyone got any ideas on how to get Kohli out before he gets to 50?”
There is some uncertainty over the availability of Suresh Raina, who suffered a nasty blow just below his left elbow from a Mohammed Shami delivery at nets. After icing and patchwork treatment from the physio, Raina underwent an MRI scan. Though the x-ray revealed no fracture, and just some soft tissue injury, the physio will take a call on his availability in the morning. If he is unfit then Ambati Rayudu will get his first game of the series.
Ishant Sharma’s tryst with ODI cricket, on the other hand, should suffer a temporary halt. Ishant has been extremely profligate and down on pace; 15 overs have produced returns of 2 for 118, at nearly eight an over. Varun Aaron had an extended bowl at the nets yesterday and looked on course for his first international outing in more than two years, a move imperative for more than just the obvious reasons.