New Zealand cricketers have made an incredible comeback right after they were clean swept in the five-match T20I series. The Black Caps flogged the visiting India team in the two ODI games and has already named the series by 2-0. And now, the Kiwi players are looking forth to defeat India in the 3rd and final ODI to be played at the Mount Maunganui on February 11.
After the disastrous ODI series opener, it was expected from Virat Kohli & his men to take back the lead in the game and level the series which was dominated by the hosts till the 2nd ODI. And living up to the expectations of the Indian cricket fans and critics, the Indian bowlers did a good job till Ross Taylor arrived on the crease.
The middle-order batsman, Taylor thrashed the Indian bowlers as if the lot were a bunch of rookie players instead of being the top-ranked bowlers. Taylor got the perfect partnership when the debutant player, Kyle Jamieson, who walked in after the dismissal of Tim Southee.
Both Taylor and Jamieson went on to sail the then-sinking ship of the Black Caps near to a 250-runs total. Taylor scored a total of 73* runs off 74 balls, while the debutant Jamieson scored 25 runs.
With young opener, Prithvi Shaw’s power-packed boundaries in the start made the target of 274 runs look like an easy job for the Men in Blue to chase.
However, the toppling of the top-order drew the worry lines over the face of the fans present at the stadium.
But the stunning partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja, followed by the fellowship between Ravindra Jadeja and Navdeep Saini, had twice turned the game in favour of India.
However, it was not a good day for the Kohli & Co. who lost the 2nd ODI, along with the series, by 22 runs and 9 balls to spare.
After the two mega-victorious games in the series, New Zealand will march up against India on 11th Feb to eye the ODI clean sweep.
New Zealand vs India: 3rd ODI – Match Preview, Predicted XI, Match Predictions
Date: 11th February
Time: 7:30 AM (IST)
Venue: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
New Zealand vs India 2020: Head to Head
| Teams | Won | Lost | Tied |
| New Zealand | 0 | 2 | – |
| India | 2 | 0 | – |
Weather forecast:
Unlike the weather at Eden Park, Mount Maunganui will have a warm and sunny morning on 11th Feb. However, it will be cloudy as the day goes ahead. Apart from the clouds, there will be humidity on Sunday that might affect the fielders but there will be no sign of rain.
Pitch Report:
During the fifth T20I game played at the Bay Oval, it was noticed that the pitch was a bit slower on the side. The batsmen struggled to hit big scores in the game. And as the game goes on, the pitch will get slower and slower. The toss winning captain will like to set the target.
India’s Predicted XI:
With the middle-order solely depending upon Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, Kohli would like to have Rishabh Pant back on the board. With Kedar Jhadav not in-form, Pant might take his place in the 3rd and the last game.
In the meantime, Jasprit Bumrah is India’s pacing spearhead and death bowling specialist across formats. The wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav might replace Bumrah to give him the necessary rest for the Test matches ahead.
Predicted Playing XI:
Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (W), Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav.
New Zealand’s Predicted XI:
New Zealand has already clinched the series by 2-0 and after missing the first two games, the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson will be leading the team to win the 3rd and the last game as well.
The team will, however, not have any other changes in their squad.
Predicted Playing XI:
Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (Wk), James Neesham, Collin de Grandehomme, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Hamish Bennett.