All eyes will be on Kohli
Kohli, who scored three hundreds in four innings before the ODI series against New Zealand, was dismissed cheaply in the last two ODIs as the New Zealand left-arm spinner exposed his weakness. When the World Cup is to be held this year, when will Kohli want to overcome this weakness as soon as possible. In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, good innings were expected from Suryakumar but this batsman who made a splash in T20 failed in the first match of the series.
Hardik is also not able to contribute enough in the middle order. India also have to play T20 series against New Zealand this weekend and after that they will play series against Australia next month and in such a situation, the team management can rest some players and give Rajat Patidar a chance to debut. Patidar has impressed with his performances at the domestic level. Changes can also be made in the bowling department and fast bowler Umran Malik and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal can be kept in the team.
Bowlers will have to repeat the second ODI performance
Indian bowlers had given New Zealand chances of scoring more than 300 runs after bowling out New Zealand for 131 for six in the first ODI but they did well in the second match in Raipur. Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Hardik have done well so far while the spinners have also played their part well. By winning this match, New Zealand will try their best to stop India from cleansweeping and with this they will also want to boost their morale before the T20 series.
Possible playing XI of Team India- Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishaan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
: Language Inputs
This post is sourced from newspapers, magazines and third-party websites. For more information please check NewsDay Express Disclaimer.