After defeating the New Zealand cricket team by six wickets in the second ODI at Pune, captain Virat Kohli will eye a repetition of match-winning heroics when India take on Blackcaps in the series-decider at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Sunday.
“We look forward to challenges. We spoke about bouncing back, and we have bounced back here (in Pune). We would look to play a similar sort of game in Kanpur as well,” Kohli said after winning the Pune ODI.
Earlier, India were under extreme pressure as they lost the series opener to the Kiwis by six wickets in Mumbai. The Indians displayed exemplary grit and made a comeback in the series, levelling the series 1-1 in second ODI.
If India manage to claim the series, it will be their seventh ODI series victory in a row.
The Green Park Stadium will host its first-ever 50-over match under floodlights. The visiting team that struggled in humid conditions in Mumbai and Pune will now get a bit cooler breeze in the Northern India.
In Pune, India rode on their bowling strength as the unit led by pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah restricted New Zealand to paltry 230/9 in the end of their innings.
Having failed to shine in Mumbai, Indian spinners too excelled in Pune. Yuzvendra Chahal struck twice, while Axar Patel took a single wicket.
In the batting department, opener Shikhar Dhawan and middle-order batsman Dinesh Karthik completed the victory course. Dhawan scored 68 runs, while Karthik shone with an unbeaten 64-run knock in India’s entertaining win.
However, another opener Rohit Sharma is still due for a big score as he lost his wicket for mere seven and 20 runs in the past two matches.
Complete Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (C), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (WK), Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, George Worker and Ish Sodhi.