Focus on Hardik's inclusion as India look to register ODI series win against NZ
India players celebrate the wicket of New Zealand's Ross Taylor during the second ODI at Mount Maunganui on Saturday. Pic/PTI
India captain Virat Kohli will be aiming to seal the five-match series when his team square off against a confused New Zealand in the third ODI here today. The India captain will not play the two remaining games after this one thanks to the BCCI's workload management programme and he would try and ensure that he finishes his assignment Down Under on a high.
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An unassailable 3-0 lead would be a fitting revenge to India's abject 0-4 humiliation during the 2014 limited overs series. One of the primary focus of today's encounter could be inclusion of Hardik Pandya, who is coming back from provisional suspension for his loose talk on a TV chat show.
Hardik Pandya
Pandya's presence lends solidity and balance to the side and the skipper has time and again admitted it. The Baroda all rounder's replacement, Vijay Shankar is a decent cricketer but is yet to possess the X factor that Pandya has.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have looked clueless against India's wrist-spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who accounted for 12 of the 20 wickets in the last two ODIs.
Kuldeep has looked the most menacing as he claimed two four-wicket hauls in the first two ODIs, while Chahal returned with two wickets in both the matches. Seamers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami also have done their job well, getting crucial breakthroughs for the team. India's batting too has complemented the bowlers, looking rock solid in both the games with Shikhar Dhawan's return to form lending the team much-needed support at the top.
For the Black Caps, captain Kane Williamson, who had top-scored in the first ODI, looked good during his short stay in the second ODI, while all-rounder Doug Bracewell tried to take the game to the wire with a 46-ball 57.
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