Opportunity for MS Dhoni to break Sachin and Sehwag's record in the New Zealand ODIs

Former India captain MS Dhoni was under some pressure when he landed in Australia, at the end of the three-match ODI series, has emerged on top. With three consecutive fifties in the ODI series, and the subsequent Man of the Series award, his seventh in ODIs, Dhoni shut his critics in style. Following the historic win in Australia, India will now be square off against New Zealand in five ODIs, beginning on January 23.

Can Dhoni break Sehwag/Sachin’s record?

Come the series, Dhoni will want to surpass Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag’s record of having scored the most ODI runs in New Zealand among Indians. With 652 runs in 18 games, Tendulkar is on the top of the list, followed by Sehwag’s 598 runs in 12 matches. Dhoni is third at the moment with 456 runs from 10 games. With the kind of form, the three-time ICC trophy winning captain is in, you can expect a few more big scores from him in the 5-match ODI series.

Tough to beat New Zealand at their home 

The absence of Steve Smith and David Warner might have made things easier for India in Australia, but the New Zealand squad is quite strong and comprises of players who can snatch the game from India’s hand. Besides, they recently outplayed the visiting Sri Lankan team in the ODI series which means their confidence will be sky high. Their confidence will further be boosted by the return of Tom Latham and Colin de Grandhomme, who were rested against Sri Lanka and Mitchell Santner, who has recovered from the injury.

The series will be a perfect chance for India to finally answer all the pending questions regarding the team combination for the World Cup. It will be interesting to see if they play MS Dhoni at no. 4, a position where he did well against Australia, or at no. 5, a position which captain Virat Kohli thinks suits his predecessor the best.

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