India v New Zealand, 3rd ODI - India Predicted XI

Team India bounced back in some serious fashion to level the ongoing 3-match ODI series against New Zealand. After having been outplayed by the visitors at Mumbai in the first game, the men in blue registered a clinical win in the second match played at Pune. It was an all-round show that helped the Indian side square things up.

Now, the action moves to Kanpur for the third and the final ODI of the series. The decider is on the cards and the stakes are high for sure. Needless to concede, both teams would want to field their best possible combinations heading in to the game. The high importance of the match has certainly put both teams in a fix over trying out the bench strength.

In the previous ODI, team India saw a complete performance from the players. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah delivered with the ball and this was ably backed up by the batsmen. Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, and Dinesh Karthik, all got amongst the runs. Now, the question stands as to what combinations will the team field in the deciding game.

Here is the India Predicted XI for the match:

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma)

The Indian openers look set in the team. With both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma being fit for the game, it will only be surprising to see either of them being rested for the game. Shikhar Dhawan got back to form in the previous game and scored a very well timed fifty. He will be high on confidence coming in to the match.

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma will be under pressure to perform. Albeit he was the top scorer for India in the ODI series against Australia, he has failed to score in the two matches against the Kiwis. With someone like Ajinkya Rahane warming the bench, the pressure surely will be on Rohit to perform in the match.

Middle-Order (Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav)

The middle-order for team India looks set for the moment. Skipper Virat Kohli has got runs under his belt. He scored a gutsy century in the first ODI. He then backed it up with another decent start at Pune. He was unfortunate to have been dismissed at a time when he had started getting comfortable at the crease.

In the recent times, the team has been trying out different batsmen at the number 4 position. In the previous game, they tried Dinesh Karthik. The veteran batsman responded in fine fashion by scoring an unbeaten fifty in the winning cause. He is likely to retain his place in the side and also in the batting position.

Kedar Jadhav’s position in the team has been questioned in the recent past. Jadhav has not been scoring consistently and hence the questions have been floating around on whether Ajinkya Rahane should replace him in the lineup. However, considering the fact that Jadhav can give out valuable overs with the ball, he gets an inch ahead in the race.

All-rounder (Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel)

In the all-rounder department, Hardik Pandya has cemented his place in the longer run. Pandya had a very decent outing in the previous game. He scored a quick 30 in the match and looked comfortable at the crease. Earlier in the game, he had bowled a decent spell wherein he managed to dismiss the in-form batsman Ross Taylor.

Pandya is likely to be joined by Axar Patel in the department. Patel was drafted in the side in the previous game at the expense of Kuldeep Yadav. He is likely to retain his place in the side. Albeit he could not stop the run flow in the match and was expensive, he did manage to dismiss Tom Latham.

Wicket-keeper (MS Dhoni)

MS Dhoni has had a quiet time in the series thus far. He struggled to get his act going with the bat in the first ODI. In the second game, his services with the bat were not needed much. He came to the crease at the fag end of the run chase. With the final ODI coming up, Dhoni would want to leave a lasting impression on the series.

Spinners (Kuldeep Yadav)

In the previous game, the team management decided to leave out Kuldeep Yadav from the playing eleven. This meant that only one wrist spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, played in the match. Now, in all likelihood, the two players could swap places in the dugout. Team India could go ahead with Kuldeep in this match ahead of Chahal to keep the rotation policy working.

Pace bowlers (Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah)

In the pace bowling department, the team is very much likely to stick with the same bowling duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. They have been doing an excellent job for the team and it would only be surprising to see the management tinker with their pair. They do have rookie pacer Shardul Thakur in the squad but it is unlikely that he will get a game.

Both Bumrah and Bhuvi will arrive in to the game riding on impressive showing in the second ODI. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was named as the Player of the Match for his three wicket haul. He had bagged 3/45 that included the wickets of both the openers in the match. On the other hand, Bumrah bowled tight lines too and had bowled two maiden overs in his spell.