Having secured their places in the ICC Champions Trophy semifinals after registering comprehensive victories in their opening two Group Stage matches, India and New Zealand will lock horns in what has now turned into a rather inconsequential contest at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Keeping that in mind, both teams are expected to field their second-line players in order to test their bench strength against quality spin-bowling. A win in their last league match will help India top the Group A. But that position hardly matters as they are set to face either Australia or most likely South Africa in the last four, and both of them have handy spin units at their disposal.
The Indians have not been really comfortable against spin despite two victories thus far in the event, and New Zealand, boasting of wily customers in Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell, alongside the part-time off-spin of Glenn Phillips, could offer them a tough challenge.
The star Indian batters were focusing more on playing out Bangladesh spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz (0/37) and Rishad Hossain (2/38) without taking risks, and they followed the same approach against Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed (1/28).
The memories of facing Santner and Phillips in the Test series at home late last year, which they lost 0-3 could haunt the Men-in-Blue but the top order, comprising the likes of Shubman Gill, India’s standout batter in ODIs of late, batting icon Virat Kohli, who made a morale-boosting 100 against Pakistan, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, have been a well-oiled unit and will be expected to tackle spin well in familiar territory.
Given that the pitches in Dubai are tired after the venue hosted the ILT20 recently, spin bowlers have had the upper hand during India’s both outings against Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The selection of five spinners — Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar — did raise a few eyebrows in the lead-up to the event, but the nature of the wickets vindicated the selection call to a large extent.
The three tweakers India employed so far — Jadeja, Axar and Kuldeep — have bowled as per the conditions, making it tough for their opponents. The trio has managed to keep the opposition batters in check in the middle overs, as none of them have given in excess of five runs per over in this event.
Against Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel managed to put up an 100-plus stand but were never able to accelerate between the 11th and 34th over — a phase when Indian spinners applied the brakes remarkably well.
But they might just face a different scenario against New Zealand as batters such as Kane Williamson, Will Young, Tom Latham, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra are excellent against spin.
Rest for Rohit, Shami?
With the outcome of the contest having no real impact in the tournament, India will be tempted to give skipper Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami some more time to hit the peak ahead of the semifinals.
Rohit had experienced some discomfort during the match against Pakistan and stayed away from the field for some 20 minutes before returning. He batted too without any obvious struggle.
There will also be discussion on resting Mohammed Shami because he had struggled with his calf during the match against Pakistan, and thus could be given an extended recovery break ahead of the semis on March 4.
In the scenario of Rohit missing the game, vice-captain Shubman Gill will be leading the Indian team in an ODI for the first time in his career. In Rohit’s absence, Rishabh Pant could get his first match of the tournament, while Arshdeep Singh could come in for Shami, and the in-form Chakravarthy might replace Kuldeep as he is also coming off an injury lay-off.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Jacob Duffy