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New Zealand stand on the precipice of making history, with the chance of claiming their first ODI series win in India. It’s sudden death as the series heads to Visakhapatnam for the 5th and final match. Join The Roar for live scores from 7pm (AEDT)
After a comprehensive thrashing in the Test series that preceded the ODIs, few would have predicted a Kiwi resurgence in the shorter format of the game.
But after a tactically sound performance in Ranchi saw the Black Caps square the ledger at 2-2, New Zealand are on the verge of causing an upset against their heavily favoured counterparts.
In an odd series both teams have managed wins despite obvious deficiencies.
In their two victories in Delhi and Ranchi – coincidentally the home towns of both the Indian Vice-Captain and Captain respectively – New Zealand’s middle order failed to fully capitalize on strong platforms laid by the top order.
In Delhi the visitors were a 158-2 in the 31st over before stumbling to a score of 242.
In Ranchi an even stronger position of 184-2 in the 36th over would ultimately manifest into a par score of 260.
In an age where modern teams are expected to double their scores in the last 20 overs, the Black Caps cannot expect to keep winning without a better batting performance.
Instead the Kiwis have relied on competent bowling, good work in the field and an astute understanding of the pitch conditions to get them to victory.
Likewise, India in their two victories have relied on a familiar script to mask over their own weaknesses.
Consistent and at times brilliant spin bowling coupled with some Virat Kohli batting heroics has been a formula for victory that India call upon far too often in limited overs cricket in the past two years.
It should be noted that this Indian team is not at full strength as they trial a mixture of youth and inexperienced players at the international level prior to the Champions Trophy in 2017.
However the over-reliance on a handful of players is a worrying trend for the selectors.
The Indian paceman – with the exception of Jaspreet Bumrah – have once again been frustratingly inconsistent as was evident in the previous match.
After neither Yadav, Kulkarni nor Pandya could keep their economy rate to under six an over, Dhoni as usual was forced to call on his spinners to halt the New Zealand charge.
Similarly with the batting, too much of the load is being assigned to few a players.
As Dhoni transitions from a big hitting finisher to a middle order grafter in the mould of Michael Bevan, the previously settled batting order now looks very different.
The young core of Pandey, Pandya and Axar have all shown promise in the past, but are yet to have a defining moment with the bat this series.
Prediction
A victory for New Zealand will give them their first ODI series win in India after four previous unsuccessful attempts.
A victory for India will give them their first bilateral series win in two years against a nation other than Zimbabwe.
Safe to say the stakes are high. With both teams experiencing struggles with the bat this match could boil down to the team that holds its nerves with the ball and in the field.
The return of Bumrah will bolster the Indian pace attack and the constant presence of the Indian spinners may be enough to put away a dogged New Zealand outfit.
India win in a very tight contest.
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