New Zealand look to rattle India, clinch series

Pune, October 25
There is always a sense of uncertainty in the air when an international match is played in Pune. The pitch can be unpredictable in its behaviour, the climate and dew factor can vary vastly. The conditions can lead to total domination by either the bowlers or the batsmen, so that the ball or the bat completely dominates the other.
Down 0-1 in the three-match ODI series, India would want to expunge all the unpredictability and focus on regaining the winning habit. During the loss in Mumbai, there was a sense of casualness in the batting and lack of creativity with the ball. Rohit Sharma, Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni were all guilty of careless strokes, while Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal could not find a solution to Tom Latham’s sumptuous sweep shots.
Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun today revealed that he has spoken to the spinners about specific plans ahead of the second match. “We have taken a good look at the videos, how they played the sweeps and things like this. Definitely the plans would change for these batsmen” Arun said.
Change of plans?
For the plans to be executed, Virat Kohli needs to be more astute as captain. The New Zealand batters showed their keenness to sweep, so he needs to ensure that his spinners make the batsmen play the ball straight down the ground. There is a case for bringing in left-arm spinner Axar Patel for Yadav. This would add depth to the batting and, more significantly, it would be more difficult for the Kiwi batsmen to sweep him because he bowls quicker.
After his century in Mumbai, Kohli was absent from the optional training session today, but his colleagues went through a rigorous workout at the Maharashtra Cricket Association ground. Rohit has had difficulties against left-arm bowlers in recent times, and today he spent a plenty of time with batting coach Sanjay Bangar, working on his trigger movement at the crease. With the No. 4 slot still up for grabs, the settled top-3 are pivotal in India building a big score. Before the first ODI against Australia in Chennai, in the nine previous matches, either one of India’s openers or Kohli at No. 3 had gone on to make a significant score. India’s winning percentage in that time stands at 86%, so, after Kohli’s century in Mumbai, it was a novelty to see India not notch up yet another win.
On the other side of the coin, the Black Caps have shown once again their ability to surprise the opposition with new plans. Ross Taylor’s conservative approach and Tom Latham’s calculative methods meant India were left clueless for a long time in Mumbai.
For New Zealand to repeat those heroics here will be epic, but at least they would now be confident that their plans can unsettle India. They would also be delighted with the fact that they managed to win in Mumbai without significant contributions from their two most influential ODI players, Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill.
Must-win game
India face the prospect of a must-win match for the first time since the Champions Trophy final. Kohli has stated in the past that he takes immense pride in his team winning under crunch situations. Tomorrow’s match is exactly that, but against a team that is astute and confident, winning won’t be an easy task.