3 reasons why New Zealand's middle-order is better than India's
The rain-marred India vs New Zealand white-ball tour has reached its final destination. It will conclude with the third and final one-dayer at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Wednesday, November 30 with the Kiwis enjoying a significant 1-0 lead heading into the last game.
The hosts came up with a clinical effort to thump the Men in Blue by seven wickets in the first ODI at Eden Park in Auckland. Bowling first, they held Team India to 306/7 and then cruised to the target in 47.1 overs. Tom Latham (145* off 104) and Kane Williamson (94* off 98) proved way too good for the Indian bowlers, adding an unbroken 221 runs for the fourth wicket.
With the second ODI in Hamilton being abandoned due to rain, New Zealand cannot lose the series from here. However, having gone down in the T20I series, they will be keen to win the one-dayers by clinching the encounter in Christchurch. Their middle-order might have to play a big role if the Kiwis are to win the final ODI. On that note, we look at three reasons why New Zealand’s middle-order has the upper hand over India’s.
#1 Kiwi batters are in form and high on confidence
Only one ODI has been completed in the series so far, but there has been enough indication of which side has the stronger middle-order. Latham played a superb knock in Auckland and turned the contest on its head. He loves batting against the Men in Blue and is one of the better players of spin in the New Zealand batting line-up. He will be high on confidence going into the Christchurch one-dayer.
Kiwi skipper Williamson has had a mixed time of late, but most of his struggles have come in the T20 format, the World Cup in Australia included. The way he batted in Auckland, he looked like a transformed batter. There was no magic wand at play, though. Quite simply, Williamson is more at home in the 50-over format, where he can take a bit of time before accelerating.
The bad news for Team India is Glenn Phillips hasn’t even got a chance to bat in the ODIs so far. If he gets an opportunity on Wednesday, he too will be hungry to make an impact. Form is in his favor as well. Daryl Mitchell has not delivered the goods in the series so far. In an ironic sense, that too doesn’t augur very well for the Men in Blue.
In complete contrast to New Zealand, India are not even sure about their middle-order batters. While the visitors are likely to continue with Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill as openers and Shreyas Iyer at number three, they will be in a quandary over numbers four, five and six. Rishabh Pant hasn’t delivered at all on the tour; Suryakumar Yadav showed his spark in the 2nd ODI but it was cut short due to the rains.
To add to the confusion, there is the puzzle over whether India should play only five frontline bowlers or go in with the extra bowling option. They adopted the former approach in the first game but dropped Sanju Samson and picked Deepak Hooda for the second. It would be intriguing to observe how they approach the do-or-die ODI in Christchurch.
#2 The experience factor
Experience is another major differentiating factor between the two teams. Skipper Williamson and Latham have been the core of New Zealand’s middle-order for a few years now. And while Phillips and Mitchell have made a bigger impact in T20Is, they have the game to adjust to the 50-over version.
Looking at Team India, Pant and Shreyas have reasonable experience in one-dayers. They were even part of the Men in Blue’s previous tour to New Zealand in 2020. But, while SKY has established himself as a T20I batter, he is still finding his feet in one-day cricket.
Suryakumar is on his maiden international trip to New Zealand. And, while Samson featured in a couple of games on the 2020 tour, he had a rather forgettable experience. As such, they have a bigger challenge on hand in Christchurch in comparison to the ones they have faced in their limited-overs careers so far. Hooda hasn’t proved to be dependable in recent times. He too lacks experience in overseas conditions.
#3 Better suited to familiar conditions
While New Zealand’s present middle-order outfit looks better than that of India irrespective of the conditions, home advantage definitely gives their batting a boost. Latham and Williamson looked at complete ease in Auckland as opposed to Team India’s batters. Knowing the home conditions inside-out gives them a significant edge heading into the final match of the series.
Even though their home and away numbers in ODIs are pretty similar, Williamson has scored four of his 13 hundreds in New Zealand, while four of Latham’s seven tons have come at home.
The emphatic triumph in Auckland was Kiwis’ 13th consecutive win in home ODIs, a streak that began in February 2019. The dominant middle-order has had a big role to play in New Zealand’s impressive home run.
Watch the India tour of New Zealand live and exclusive on Prime Video. The coverage of the ODIs on 25th, 27th and 30th November begins at 6 am.