Series on the line

Kanpur: India will aim to play with the same grit and gumption they displayed in the second match in Pune when they square off against New Zealand in the ODI series-decider here on Sunday.

Under tremendous pressure after a long time following their loss in the first ODI of the three-match series, the Indians showed a lot of character as they put up a near flawless performance in the second game to level the series 1-1.

Captain Virat Kohli and his team thrive on challenges and they will back themselves to win their seventh ODI series in a row, when they take the field at the Green Park Stadium, which will be hosting its first ever 50-over game under lights. “We look forward to challenges. We spoke about bouncing back, and we have bounced back here (in Pune). We will look to play a similar sort of game in Kanpur as well,” said Kohli after the six-wicket win over the Kiwis in the second ODI.

Both teams arrived here on Thursday, giving themselves enough time to get used to the cooler conditions in the northern part of India. The Indian team executed its plans perfectly in Pune, especially on the bowling front with in-form pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah doing the job early on as well as in the death overs.

The spinners bounced back well after an off-day in Mumbai. Yuzvendra Chahal, who failed to pick up a wicket in the first game, struck twice while Axar Patel, replacing chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, found the stumps of the in-form Tom Latham. Part-timer Kedar Jadhav bowled eight overs, conceding just 31 runs.

Kohli may not want to tinker with a winning combination, therefore, it remains to be seen whether Yadav gets a chance to play in front of his home crowd.

On the batting front, a big positive for India in Pune was Dinesh Karthik delivering at no. 4 with an unbeaten 64. The team management has tried as many as 11 players at the number four spot since the 2015 World Cup and Karthik certainly did enough to stake his claim in that position going forward.

He had batted at number five in the series opener but he himself said that four is his preferred spot.

Shikhar Dhawan getting a fifty plus score after six innings was also good news for India.

The stylish southpaw struck the ball beautifully and will be hoping to give his team another good start in the must-win game.

However, his opening partner Rohit Sharma is due for a big score after making 7 and 20 in the earlier games. Just like the home team, the Black Caps would look to get back to winning ways as they remain within touching distance of winning a rare series in India.