New Zealanders well prepared and have the wherewithal to surprise hosts in the final ODI at Green Park, Kanpur today, reckons paceman Tim Southee
New Zealand have proved to be tough customers for India in one-day internationals at home in recent times. And that's good for the home side, as it has enabled them to do a reality check after cruising home against Australia in the preceding ODI series. The emphatic way the Kiwis won the first ODI in Mumbai was indeed a wake-up call for the Indians, especially for their spinners who had held sway over the struggling Aussie batsmen. India had to rethink their strategy after the Mumbai defeat and decided to bench chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and induct left-arm spinner Axar Patel.
New Zealand's pacer Tim Southee kicks a football during practice at Kanpur on Saturday. Pic/PTI
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Local boy Yadav to seat out?
Yadav being much slower in the air, the Kiwi batsmen, especially Tim Latham and Ross Taylor, used the sweep shot effectively to counter the mystery bowler in Mumbai, so much so that he was benched for the Pune game. That move paid off as Patel castled the maundering Latham with a beauty. Now, with the series level at one-all, there is a big question mark over the inclusion of the local lad Yadav in the deciding match, to be played at Green Park today. There is hardly any reason for India to change the combination in a must-win game especially after No.4 batsman Dinesh Karthik too came good in Pune at the crucial time. Whatever the personnel India decide on, there is no doubt that they will have to produce their best to subdue the tough Kiwi side, who in 2016 were level at 2-2, before losing the last game in the five-match series.
Their lanky pace bowler Tim Southee said that the team was determined to go one better this time. "It was unfortunate that we missed out on the chance to overcome India in the last series. But we are determined to go one better this time," Southee said after the team had a strenuous workout in the morning. "We have prepared well and have the wherewithal to surprise the home team," he said.
Rare loss
In recent times, India has rarely lost an ODI series at home, the rare aberration being against South Africa in 2015. In that series, Green Park produced a high scoring match with South Africa posting 303 on the strength of a brilliant century by AB de Villiers and India fell short of the target by mere five runs. That was the first time 300-mark had been breached in an ODI at Green Park. Now, with nobody, neither the curator, nor the players who came for a press briefing (Southee for New Zealand and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for India), willing to talk on the nature of the pitch, it is difficult to predict if it is going to be another high-scoring game. The last time UPCA curator Shiv Kumar had predicted that the 300-mark barrier would finally be breached and he was prove right. But now with gag orders on giving any information on the pitch, one can only hope that it will be a sporting pitch which will provide a fitting final to a well-fought series.
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