Upbeat Indians look to seal series in Dhoni-land

Kane Williamson’s men have their task cut out in a must-win game

October 26, 2016 12:38 am | Updated November 17, 2021 06:25 am IST - RANCHI:

Nothing could spark a greater rejoicing in this region than the news of M.S. Dhoni playing a big knock. The India limited-overs captain produced just that kind of an innings in Mohali with a match-defining 80.

As Dhoni returns to his hometown to lead India in the fourth ODI against the Kiwis, the legend about his ability as one of the most successful cricketers of all time has gained credence. With that innings on Sunday, which took him past 9000 runs in ODIs, Dhoni has reaffirmed his ability to carve out a masterful performance, late in his career.

In bringing himself up the batting order, Dhoni also inspired a prolific Virat Kohli to be more imperious which resulted in a stroke-filled 154. Significantly, Kohli has remained undefeated (85 and 154) in both the matches India has won — in Dharmashala and Mohali.

Trump card Kohli is evidently the trump card, with an aggregate of 248 runs, as India — currently 2-1 up — looks to wrap up the five-match series, with a game to go. But the expectation is also high about Dhoni delivering something spectacular to make his homecoming memorable.

Dhoni will also look to repair the faultlines in the rest of the batting which has not seen anything of note from the others like Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav.

India has played three ODIs and a T20I at this venue — the JSCA International Stadium — since it hosted England for the first time in January 2013. It has won all except the ODI against Australia, which was a wash out.

Having rested R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja — two of its main spinners — India has given a good account in bowling, with a young stable.

The experienced Amit Mishra has bagged eight wickets to be the most successful bowler, while pacer Umesh Yadav and off-spinner Kedar Jadhav have shared 12 wickets among them.

Young Jasprit Bumrah has five wickets to his credit but has been the most economical, while Hardik Pandya, who made his ODI debut in this series, has worked up pace to a new intensity.

New Zealand, which is facing a must-win situation, has drawn up arrears mostly in the batting department.

Barring Tom Latham and the captain Kane Williamson, there are not many in its batting line-up who have scored enough runs.

The seniors in the top order — Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor — have struggled and a largely improved showing from them is needed if the visitors hope to square the series. The lower order has been more resolute, exemplified by the ninth-wicket partnership of 84 between James Neesham (57) and Matt Henry (39 n.o.) which propelled the score to a fighting 285.

Williamson will hope that the batsmen redeem themselves in time and take the fight to the host.

The teams (from):

India: M.S. Dhoni (capt & wk), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni and Mandeep Singh.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Anton Devcich, B-J. Watling and Doug Bracewell.

Match starts at 1.30 p.m.

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