India vs New Zealand, 5th ODI: Preview and predicted XI
The action now moves to the Westpac Stadium in Wellington for the 5th and final match of the One Day International series between India and New Zealand.
The 4th ODI saw New Zealanders finally come to their own. Their bowling rattled team India and bundled out the Indian batsman for a paltry 92 runs. Trent Boult took a five-for and won the man of the match award for his spectacular bowling effort.
In reply, New Zealand took only 14.4 overs to reach the target. Henry Nicholls and Ross Taylor were not out at the end of the innings. Both the wickets that fell went to Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Now, coming to the fifth and final ODI of the series, India would be hoping to dominate and end the series on a high. At the top of the order, Shubman Gill would want to prove his worth.
MS Dhoni is also expected to come back in the playing XI at expense of Dinesh Karthik. The Indian team management would want to give Dhoni ample match practice prior to the World Cup. India has played three matches at the Westpac stadium, and has only emerged victorious on one occasion.
Predicted playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Ambati Rayadu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, K Khaleel Ahmed, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
New Zealand would be more than happy with their performance in the last ODI. The Black Caps definitely look a different unit when the ball swings and given Wellington's conditions, they might field an unchanged playing XI.
It is the batting that has been the concern for them and that question still persists because they chased a smaller total last time out. Till now, New Zealand have played 29 ODIs at Westpac Stadium and won 16 out of those.
Predicted playing XI: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle, Matt Henry, and Trent Boult.