Ranchi ODI: Rejuvenated MS Dhoni eyes series-win on home ground vs NZ

Team India skipper MS Dhoni during a team practice session ahead of the 3rd ODI against New Zealand at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Saturday Pic PTIRanchi Rediscovering himself in the twilight of his career a rejuvenated Mahendra Singh Dhoni would look to continue his regained form and guide India to a seriesclinching win when the team takes on New Zealand in the fourth cricket ODI here tomorrowA batsman wicketkeeper and a coolheaded skipper all rolled into one Dhoni promoted himself to No4 in the last ODI in Mohali and set up the sevenwicket win in the company of Virat Kohli to give the hosts a 21 lead in the fivematch seriesDhonis 91ball 80 in Mohali also took him to the club of 9000 runs He became the first to reach there with an average of 50 or moreThe limitedovers captain and Ranchis favourite son may be seen in his last appearance at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium Complex here which has hosted three ODIs and one T20I with India winning all of them except for a rainmarred onedayerDhonis deputy Kohli will also look forward to return to the venue where he has scores of 77 not out and 139 not out in his two unconquered ODI innings here Regarded among the best batsmen of modern era Kohli once again showed how dangerous he can be after being dropped early in his innings in Mohali He came on his own after the reprieve on six and scripted a flawless 154 not out off 134 balls to take India past New Zealands 285 in the third ODIIt was Kohlis 26th century 22 in winning cause same as Sachin Tendulkar and 14 in successful chasesAnd come tomorrow stopping the 27yearold Delhi batsman would be a first in New Zealands wishlist In their decisive 151run third wicket partnership Dhoni showed a renewed optimism and hunger while Kohli was at his clinical bestTo say that Dhoni has past his prime would be too early but the 35yearold has himself acknowledged his diminishing prowess in Mohali something that prompted him to elevate himself to No4 in the batting lineupTo some extent I am losing my ability to freely rotate in the middle If it keeps on happening for a long time tendency is you dont fluently rotate strike and that was what was happening with my batting he had said Back home where it all began for Dhoni it will be an emotional match for the Indian skipper who has won every ICC trophy and he would look to make the outing a memorable oneDhonis return to form would be a dangerous signal for the Kiwis who are desperate to prove a point after their 03 whitewash in the Test seriesDespite opting to rest their three premier bowlers in the Tests Ravichandran Ashwin Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja keeping in view the gruelling home season ahead India have done reasonably well in the bowling departmentThe biggest surprise has been parttime offspinner Kedar Jadhav who has taken six wickets at less than eight runs an over and is joint second in the wickettakers list behind legspinner Amit MishraHaving got a lucky break following Suresh Rainas fitness issues the 31yearold Jadhav is grabbing the opportunity with both hands An explosive batsman Jadhav who scored a 37ball 41 in New Delhi can give Dhoni a good option ahead of the next years Champions Trophy by becoming the utility player that the skipper is looking for Then there is Hardik Pandya who has impressed with both bat and bowl in his debut ODI seriesMaking his debut in Dharamshala Pandya bowled with pace and accuracy en route a matchwinning 331 while in New Delhi he nearly pulled off an tough chase before being Dismissed for 36 from 32 ballsBut going into tomorrows game Indias biggest concern would be the opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane who are yet to give the team an explosive start In the last three ODIs their partnership has yielded 49 21 and 13 runs respectively The Indian team management would be looking towards Rohit and Rahane to forge a partnership upfront to release extra pressure on the middleorderRahane himself would be eager to make a big score and cement his place in the opening slot in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul On the other hand it is a mustwin match for New Zealand to keep their hopes alive in the series and for that to happen their batsmen need to fire in unisonBarring Tom Latham and captain Kane Williamson no other Kiwi batsmen has been among the runsSenior pros Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor are enduring a forgettable series with the bat and its high time the duo fires for New Zealand to end the tour on a positive noteThe contribution from the lowerorder has been a positive aspect for New Zealand in the series so far In the last ODI in Mohali the Black Caps revived theirinnings with a lowerorder surge between James Neesham 57 and Matt Henry 39 not out in an 84run record ninth wicket stand to take their total to 285In the remaining two games Williamson would be hoping that his toporder lays the foundation for the lowerorder to fire on flat Indian tracks which are full of runsTeams fromIndia Mahendra Singh Dhoni Capt and WK Rohit Sharma Ajinkya Rahane Virat Kohli Manish Pandey Kedar Jadhav Axar Patel Hardik Pandya Amit Mishra Umesh Yadav Jasprit Bumrah Jayant Yadav Dhawal Kulkarni and Mandeep SinghNew Zealand Kane Williamson Capt Martin Guptill Tom Latham Ross Taylor Correy Anderson Luke Ronchi WK James Neesham Mitchell Santner Tim Southee Matt Henry Trent Boult Ish Sodhi Anton DevcichBJ Watling and Doug BracewellMatch starts 130pm IST