Dhoni boost for India seeking an improved batting show

Press Trust of India  |  Wellington 

Pushed out of their comfort zone by some incisive swing in challenging conditions, a jolted will gain confidence from Mahendra Singh Dhoni's return as they aim to finish the five-match series against on a high.

A 4-1 margin will look much better than 3-2 but it will be easier said than done at the Basin Reserve in

The windy condition here could just be the shot that would need as he again marks his run-up.

And that's where Dhoni's presence will be a factor in that middle order which still isn't rock solid if isn't around.

confirmed that Dhoni is fit and available for the game.

Dhoni's calmness in anchoring the innings will be priceless and young Shubman Gill might make the way in the playing XI as preparations hit full swing.

The Hamilton match was an eye opener where Ambati Rayudu, and failed to prove a point that they can stand up and be counted if and fail on a given day with Kohli also not around.

With the three-match T20I series ahead and also round the corner, will have to address this weakness to ensure that their much-vaunted batting doesn't crumble on an odd day when the condition aids swing in England.

Rohit has already described it as 'one of the worst batting performance' by the team and he would like to lead by example by quickly getting over the disappointment with another fiery opening stand with on Sunday.

Having returned from provisional suspension post his loose talk on a TV chat show, Hardik Pandya gave ample display of his importance in the ODI team and he will look to continue to deliver.

It will be interesting if comes back for the final game with Bhuvneshwar Kumar getting the rest.

The team management might also want to test as wasn't very impressive in the last game.

Although the series is done and dusted, the fourth ODI win gave a new lease of life to New Zealand's campaign and they will look to dish out another superlative performance before going into the T20I series.

Opener Henry Nicholls, who replaced in the fourth ODI, made an unbeaten 30 to provide solidity at the top, while looked in good touch en route his 93 and 37 not out in the last two innings.

New Zealand, however, is likely to miss out opener who suffered a back during practice.

In department, Boult has swung his way with a five wicket haul while Grandhomme seemed to have regained confidence with his three wicket haul in the last match.

Back into the fold, all rounder and spinner have made a decent start with one wicket each in the fourth game.

Teams (from):

India: (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar, Shubman Gill, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya.

New Zealand: (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, (wk), Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, and

Match Starts at 7:30 am.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sat, February 02 2019. 12:05 IST