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Auckland: Their campaign in tatters after two consecutive defeats, India need to regroup quickly and find the right combination as they go into a must-win match against a gutsy New Zealand in the third one-dayer on Saturday.
Down 0-2 and having lost the world no. 1 tag, the Indian team would be desperate to make amends and stamp their authority in what will be their last chance to make a come back into the five-match series.
If Dhoni's men fail to win on Saturday, it will be their second consecutive series loss after South Africa outside the subcontinent.
The visitors lost the first ODI at Napier by 24 runs and then went down in the second one-dayer by 15 runs (D/L method) at Hamilton, which dethroned India from the number one ranking in the ODIs.
Overall, Dhoni and Co. have lost four of their last five one-dayers, all of which were played outside the sub-continent. This has undoubtedly opened up a number of points for the concerned team to ponder upon.
The fact that the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni likes to chase, opting to bowl first in both matches so far, the size of Eden Park should be another worry for him.
The Indians have looked to contain the batsmen in the middle of the innings before restricting the damage in the death overs, and this strategy has so far backfired. It is because not many wickets have fallen until the 35th over.
Only three wickets fell before the 35th over in Napier, with Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor batting since the eighth over. It was much the similar case in Hamilton.
R Ashwin has not taken a single wicket in the last two ODIs. But the blame doesn't lie with him alone, since Dhoni uses his main bowlers in short bursts and makes them bowl during the powerplays as well as death overs. If the idea is to contain runs rather than taking wickets, it is precisely where the Indian bowling is failing.
Ashwin has conceded runs at 5.89 per over in the last five matches, while Ishant Sharma (6 wickets) has conceded at 6.12 per over in four games.
Other bowlers in Ravindra Jadeja (3 wickets) has conceded at 6 per over, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 wickets) has played only three matches and gone for 5.73 per over. Mohammad Shami is by far the most expensive bowler, giving away runs at 6.70, but that is negated by his ability to take wickets -- 16 in five matches.
The size of this ground should excite the Indian batsmen, but these are troublesome times. The openers -- Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma -- have produced their best opening stand in the last four ODIs on foreign soil, worth a meagre 22 runs.
Since New Zealand have a cushion of two victories going ahead, they will be looking to close-out the series in the third match itself, given that the fourth ODI is again in Hamilton where the square is arguably slower.
While windy Wellington could be fairly unpredictable for a series finale.
The drop-in pitch at Eden Park will keep their bowlers very interested. Hamish Bennett, with his lively pace, is expected to come into contention for a place in the side as the pitch curator Blair Christiansen assured that the wicket will generate some pace and bounce, enticing both batsmen and bowlers.
The boundaries down the ground are shorter than 55 metres while the square boundaries at 66 meters are longest parts of this makes-shift cricket stadium. It allowed two chases of 200-plus in the domestic T20 matches here recently.
Teams from:
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (Capt.), Corey Anderson, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson and Hamish Bennett.
India: MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishwar Pandey, Varun Aaron and Amit Mishra.
Match facts
Saturday January 25, 2014 (day/night)
Start time 1400 local (0100 GMT, 6.30am IST)
