Mumbai: While India missed out on a chance to get past New Zealand in ODI rankings by winning the ODI series 4-1 or 5-0, the onus will now be on them not to lose the ODI series from the side which were clean swept in the Tests. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led unit did everything right to win in Dharamsala and set the tone of the ODI series. However, the Kiwi kept their heads and toppled the hometeam in New Delhi and Ranchi to keep the series alive.
With India managing to sandwich a win between the two losses, the fifth ODI at the Dr YSR Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vizag, on Saturday, will decide who clinches the trophy.
And in order to keep the morale high ahead of the upcoming England series, here are the five things India must focus on to win the Vizag ODI and seal the series.
Rahane, Rohit must do justice to their ability:
Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma have not done justice to their ability and talent in the ODI series thus far. While Rahane scored a fifty in the last ODI, the otherwise sound Mumbai batsman could not cash in on the opportunity to seal the opener’s slot and help India win the series even before the teams moved to Vizag.
A few match-winning knocks in the absence of injured to Shikhar Dhawan and a little inexperienced but rapidly improving KL Rahul would have also helped Rahane’s cause of cementing his place in India’s XI for the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Rohit, on the other hand, has failed to score big in any of the games. His scores in the last four ODIs are 14, 15, 13 and 11. Although his place at the top of the batting order won’t be under immediate threat; courtesy his consistency in the position over the last few years, India would need the world record holder for highest individual score in an ODI innings to come good in the series-decider.
Get out Latham and Williamson early:
Where the likes of Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor have struggled to find consistency, Tom Latham has been spectacular. The Kiwi opener has looked at ease against pace and spin and no wonder has been the leading run-getter from New Zealand side (225 runs) and second over-all after Virat Kohli (293 runs) in the ongoing ODI series.
Kane Williamson, one of the best batsmen going around, will be another player who can thwart India’s plans to seal the series. The Blackcaps skipper’s class and consistency can take his side home on any given day. So, if India have to win, they must get the two out early.
Virat Kohli is pivotal:
Virat Kohli and inconsistency are antonyms of each other; if not across the formats then surely in the shorter versions of the game. India’s premier batsman and Test skipper is leaving no stones unturned to cement his legacy as one of the best batsmen to represent the country, his and Team India fans will want to witness another Kohli masterclass in Vizag.
While Dhoni had played down the fact that the Indian side is over reliant on Kohli, the results in the games of the ongoing India-New Zealand series clearly indicate that India have won only when Kohli has scored big. When he could not do that in New Delhi and Ranchi, Indian batting capitulated at the hands of Kiwi bowlers.
Bowlers must continue their good show:
While the Indian batsmen have faltered, bowlers have put up their hands and performed in all the games in the series. Although New Zealand managed to escape and score 280 in the Ranchi game, the visitors have failed to take the Indian bowlers to the cleaners. The only concern for Dhoni would be availability of Jasprit Bumrah for the final ODI. The youngster, who has been a vital cog for the Indian side since the time he made his debut last year, was sidelined in the Ranchi ODI as he was not 100 per cent fit.
Considering his ability to deliver toe crushers at will, he, Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav, who have done a fine job leading the pack, can be a lethal combination in Vizag where the pacers would get some help because of weather.
The spin-unit led by Amit Mishra has not put a foot wrong. While the seasoned campaigner Mishra is showing the way by scalping 10 wickets in four games to be the series’ leading wicket-taker, part-timer Kedar Jadhav (6 wickets) has been a surprise package.
Indian middle-order must deliver:
While Dhoni has backed the relatively new middle-order saying they will play big shots and will eventually learn after playing 15-20 games, the likes of Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Kedar Jadhav, the four, despite the chance to make a name for themselves, came short of grabbing it. The Indian quartet must prove that Dhoni’s faith in them is not misplaced.
The Karnataka batsman, Manish Pandey, has long been one of the promising batsmen going around in the domestic cricket. However, the scores of 17, 19, 28 (not out) and 12 in the first 4 ODIs, don’t do justice to the ability and repertoire of shots he has in his arsenal. Unlike Pandey, Jadhav, Pandya and Patel, only batted twice in the series, such is the scenario that the trio will have to make the most of every opportunity that comes their way.
Coming to Dhoni, it will be foolish to write off Dhoni the batsman despite his admission of his struggles to rotate the strike and batting form. India’s limited-overs skipper will be itching to do what he has done best all through his career; play a pivotal part in the crucial games; in this case in a series decider.
