CHENNAI: The series might have been won, but for India, the third and final ODI against New Zealand is as important as the other two games they have played so far. Their head coach Rahul Dravid said as much on the eve of the match in Indore on Monday.
Now, apart from the regular ‘every game you play for your country is important’ quote, Dravid has a point. The third ODI will be India’s sixth in the format this year. The number will get to nine in March — three ODIs against Australia — but will remain there till July with a home World Cup set to be played in October. Which is why, for the hosts, every match is important. Every outing is an opportunity to figure out their best pool of 20 players to pick from by the time the marquee event comes along.
“You are probably looking at 15 games (before the World Cup). I think we have already narrowed down on our group of players we want and we are almost there. It is just about ensuring that we play them more in one day cricket and prioritise this format,” Dravid said on Monday.
So far, India has had their share of positives. Shubman Gill has owned his place, Virat Kohli is scoring runs, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are taking wickets, and so is Kuldeep Yadav. While KL Rahul is likely to be back for Australia series, there is a question on Suryakumar Yadav and whether he can translate his T20 success to 50-over format. Skipper Rohit Sharma is searching for a big score and then there is Hardik Pandya, who is yet to put up an impactful performance with the bat.
And they could not have asked for a better place to turn up than Indore. It is a place where ball travels far. It is a venue where the bowlers dread bowling for how easy batting can be. The last time they batted here, both Rohit and Pandya scored fifties. Coach Dravid expects it to be a high-scoring game.
Meanwhile, there could be a few changes in the bowling department as well to ensure game time for some who are in the waiting. Yuzvendra Chahal might get a game, same with Umran Malik with either Shami or Siraj sitting out. For India, Tuesday is all about ticking the boxes. And irrespective of the result, they would be a happy side so long as they come out of the game doing just that.
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Eyes on SKY
This could be Suryakumar Yadav’s last chance to make a mark in the 50-over format. He is the first name in the T20I team sheet, but that is not the case for ODIs. The third ODI could be his chance before Shreyas Iyer comes back into the playing XI in India’s next assignment.
Will Washington step up?
While Ravindra Jadeja is hoping to prove match fitness in Washington Sundar’s hometown, the latter is still trying to prove himself as the vital ODI all-rounder in the lower-order. He was amongst wickets in the second ODI and would be keen on proving a point on Tuesday.
The Black Caps top-order
On paper, Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham looks a formidable five. However, they have not shown up for New Zealand in this series so far. And there is no better time to do so than the final match of the series to avoid a clean sweep.