NZ vs IND ODI Series 2022: India predicted XI against New Zealand for 3rd ODI

India will be looking to level the series when they face a spirited New Zealand in the series-deciding third One Day International at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Wednesday, November 30. The last game was abandoned due to rain and the hosts are leading the series 1-0 at the moment courtesy of an emphatic seven-wicket victory in the first match.

Therefore, the Indian team has no other choice than to win the contest and not allow the Kiwis to seal the series. As far as India's team selection for the decider is concerned, they would be keen to field the same side.

Sanju Samson, who scored a valuable 36 in the series opener was benched for the last game and Deepak Hooda was picked ahead of him. Now, it would be interesting to see whether Samson will be preferred for the final match at Hooda’s expense or not.

Without further ado, let’s a look at India’s Predicted XI for the third ODI against New Zealand.

Openers Shikhar Dhawan (c) and Shubman Gill:

Stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan might have been dismissed early in the last game, but he did make a strong statement in the series-opener scoring 72. The southpaw would yet again be hoping to make his bat do the talking and eye a match-winning performance on the 22 yards in the decider.

Shubman Gill on the other hand has been really consistent in the ongoing ODI series. He scored a fifty in the first game and was also involved in a 124-run stand with Shikhar Dhawan. In the last match, the youngster remained unbeaten on 45 off 42 balls and stitched an unbroken 66-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav for the second wicket.

Middle-Order: Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav

Shreyas Iyer did not get a chance to bat in the previous fixture, but he did make the most of his chances in the series opener as he not only looked strong against the well-directed bouncers but also went on to score 80 runs off 76 deliveries that helped India post a stiff total of 306/7 on the board.

Just like Iyer, even Rishabh Pant did not get a chance to showcase his batting skills in the last encounter. However, he would be eager to roar back to form in the decider as he failed to get going in the first game scoring a painstaking 15 runs off 23 deliveries.

Suryakumar Yadav who has been outstanding in T20Is this year and is also the top-ranked batter of the format would be hoping to carry that purple patch into the 50-overs format. Suryakumar impressed with the bat in the last game and remained unbeaten on 34 runs off 25 balls.

All-Rounders: Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar

Deepak Hooda could yet again be included in the playing XI to bolster the bowling attack. The Rohtak-born must make an impact in this game if he wants to be considered as a specialist all-rounder in the long run. So far, Hooda has scored 141 runs in nine ODIs and has also registered three scalps to his name.

Washington Sundar played a wonderful cameo of 37* off 16 balls in the first game that helped India post a total in excess of 300 runs. Nonetheless, he went wicketless with the ball in hand but was very economical conceding just 42 runs in his ten overs at an economy of 4.2.

Deepak Chahar might be roped in place of his former CSK teammate Shardul Thakur as a batting all-rounder. Thakur only scored a run and manged to pick up the wicket of opener Finn Allen. He conceded 63 runs in his nine overs at an economy rate of exactly seven including a maiden.

Bowlers: Arsheep Singh, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal

Arshdeep Singh was given a chance in the last game by the team management despite going wicketless and conceding 68 runs in 8.1 overs in the first ODI and now, the left-arm pacer must perform in the final ODI if given an opportunity.

Umran Malik, who made his ODI debut in the series opener created a good first impression finishing as the top-wicket taker for India in the match. He finished with bowling figures of 2/66 in his 10 overs at an economy rate of 6.6.

Yuzvendra Chahal looked off-coloured in the first game as the in-form batters Tom Latham and captain Kane Williamson picked him really well. Chahal went wicketless finishing with 67 runs at the end of his 10 overs. He would be desperately looking to rediscover his rhythm with the ball in hand in the next match.

India Predicted XI:

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal