Ruthless India aim to cut NZ to size
Hosts look to the trio of Pandya, Chahal and Kuldeep again after their impressive show vs Aussies
MUMBAI: The troika of Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will remain in focus as India look to maintain domination at home in their three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting Sunday, at the Wankhede Stadium.
The rampant Indian cricket team has followed skipper Virat Kohli’s diktat to be ‘ruthless’ to near perfection, winning all their matches in Sri Lanka and brushing aside the threat a depleted Australia carried with a 4-1 series win. However, New Zealand had fared far better than Australia and England on their previous tour to India, and the Kiwis will draw a great deal of confidence from their 2-3 showing last year.
India got a deserved short break following the washout of the final T20 game against Australia at Hyderabad. On the other hand, New Zealand arrived 10 days before the ‘short series’ and picked up as many as six members from the ‘A’ side already playing in India, to get adequate time to acclimatize. Thus they have players to acquire knowledge of conditions and pitches.
India’s fresh spin pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal is shaping up fast as a lethal option, and the rise of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya has allowed India to rest Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.
Pandya’s exploits with the bat against Sri Lanka and Australia have served a warning to New Zealand. New Zealand have spoken about the importance of not bowling lengths off which Pandya likes to hit.
With Shikhar Dhawan set to return, Virat Kohli will face a tough choice between him and Ajinkya Rahane, who scored four fifties on the trot vs Australia.
Though this series may not carry great significance, the likes of Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav will face the heat to perform to stay in contention.
New Zealand have had mixed results in their two warm-up matches. Tom Latham’s new role as wicketkeeper and No 5 batsman is the biggest change in Kiwis ranks. And with a quickfire century, he has signalled his readiness for the grind of keeping wicket and getting runs.
Kane Williamson confirmed Colin Munro will move up to partner Martin Guptill, but what will raise New Zealand’s hope is the century from Ross Taylor in the second tour match. Taylor’s belligerent knock showed signs he is getting into rhythm, and the Kiwis will need him to come good.
New Zealand have drafted in Ish Sodhi after fellow leg-spinner Todd Astle was ruled out due to a groin injury, but expectations will be pinned on Trent Boult (5/38 in the first tour match) and Mitchell Santner’s all-round skills.