Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s romance with the ‘City of Destiny’ is an acknowledged fact. And, he would be hoping for a series-winning performance in the decider to silence his critics at the ACA-VDCA Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium here on Saturday.
The two losses at Delhi and Ranchi were a grim reminder that the young guns are yet to master the art of taking the team beyond the finish line under pressure.
Dhoni, who believes that they may be learning quickly to adapt, should be expecting the top-order to do the job on its own to avoid any embarrassment.
It will be interesting to see whether Dhoni bats at No. 4, especially after the unfamiliar experience of facing 23 dot balls in the 31 he faced while scoring a meagre 11 in his home-town Ranchi. This display would have emboldened the critics harping on the theory that his famed skills of finishing a contest might just be deserting him.
Rohit’s poor runBut, what should be a major concern for the Indian team is the poor run of the classy Rohit Sharma at the top — 14, 15, 13 and 11. There is no doubting that he is one of those cricketers who often gets some unplayable balls or gets out to some stunning catches even as his partners thrive on dropped chances. But, at this level, Rohit has to blame himself if he fails again.
Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya should have realised by now the importance of not just being talented but the ability to score runs, build partnerships under pressure and completing the job on hand.
In bowling, it will be interesting to see whether the fit-again Jaspreet Bumrah will be back to share the new ball with Umesh Yadav. The spin trio of Axar Patel, Amit Mishra and Kedar Jadhav is expected to back the pacers and strike the big blows in the crucial middle-overs.
Upbeat KiwisOn the other hand, the Kiwis are clearly upbeat after levelling the series in Ranchi. They may be worried with the indifferent form of its most experienced batsman, Ross Taylor. The welcome return to form by Martin Guptill, man-of-the-match in the last game, could just be what the doctor ordered.
That Kiwis won the last game despite dropping one-day specialists Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi was not a good sign for the home team.
With left-armer Trent Boult and James Neesham backing the experienced Tim Southee, the Kiwi pace attack has the striking prowess to rattle the best. The spin combine of Mitchell Santner, Anton Devcich and Ish Sodhi should come good again in this crucial contest to give the Kiwis the edge.
There is a threat of rain disrupting the match because of a depression. However, it did not rain for most of Friday and the ground-staff were busy in preparing what is said to be a good one-day wicket.
The teams (from):
India: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni and Mandeep Singh.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt.), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Anton Devcich, BJ Watling and Doug Bracewell.
Match starts at 1.30 p.m.
