If someone told you it’s not personal, they were lying about it. It is as personal as personal can get. And looking at the way team India have played in this tournament, one can easily see that they are out there to make thighs right . After being knocked by New Zealand thrice in three major ICC tournaments, India had a point to prove in this series against the Kiwis. Even though both teams started off without their best batsmen – Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson respectively, this was set up to be an exciting contest. And it really has lived up to its name.
India however were the better team on both occasions as they were trying to redeem themselves after an early World Cup exit at the hands of the kiwis. India were clinical and rampant in both the games. One could sense that they were playing with a vengeance and this is what made all the difference as far as the results are concerned.
So now we come to the last and the final game of the tournament with India being 2-0 up in the series and they sure will be looking to finish this off with another win in order to complete a series white-wash which should ease off the pain in recent wounds if not heal it completely.
Now coming into this game both teams will have different agendas. While India who have sealed the series will now be looking to give the youngsters and debutants a chance to have some game time as the next T20 World Cup is not so far away. New Zealand on the other hand will be looking to make a comeback and avoid a possible white-wash and will be looking to feature their best XI. There is also an added motive for the New Zealand players – specially for the likes of D Mitchell, Glenn Philips and their team-mates to impress the franchises one last time before the IPL mega auction.
India will be looking to provide some game time to Avesh Khan who could get a game today. Yuzvendra Chahal who has also not been used in this tournament could be given a game for either Aswhin or Axar. Ishan Kishan could also be given a go for this game. Venkatesh Iyer who got a chance the previous game but did not get to bat might just be given a game too. Ruturaj Gaikwad should also be given a chance either at the top of the order or at the no 3 position. So India will be keen to experiment with their new set of exciting players.
Team Combinations and predicted XI’s
India’s Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul/Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant/Ishan Kishan, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Avesh Khan
New Zealand’s Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson/Adam Milne, Trent Boult
