India v New Zealand, 3rd ODI, Mohali: Dhoni & Co face resurgent Kiwis; Raina still unwell

MOHALI: One box that New Zealand found hard to tick on this tour finally bore a check-mark in Delhi. After four straight defeats, a win in the second ODI got the Kiwis back on track. And with the five-match series now locked 1-1, the momentum ahead of the third ODI here at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium on Sunday is with NZ, for the first time on this tour.
Kane Williamson's ton, the only one for NZ this tour, Tom Latham's consistent run and Tim Southee's all-round skills have recharged the Kiwi batteries.In contrast, the six-run reversal in Delhi has raised a few questions for India.
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The news of Suresh Raina's continued unavailability due to viral fever has only added to India's worries, as they missed a finisher at the Kotla. Of course, Hardik Pandya almost pulled off a heist in the end. Indian leggie Amit Mishra didn't think India missed a lower-order hero.
"There are many finishers in this team. I don't think we are missing out anything on that front," he told reporters.
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Raina isn't travelling with the team here, restricting the squad to 14 at the moment with no replacement sought considering the team for last two ODIs will be announced afresh.
While New Zealand won't mind that, India can't continue thinking about it since they have a few problem areas to resolve.
Curiously, MS Dhoni's worries won't be related to the bowling which is generally the sore point for Indian skippers. It's the batting, including his own indifferent form, that's giving the hosts a few jitters.
Replacing the injured Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane hasn't yet made heads turn this series by squandering decent starts. Ditto with Rohit Sharma, who allayed fears of his bicep injury suffered in the last game by training in earnest on Saturday, and Manish Pandey, who wants to cement his place in the squad.
Virat Kohli, the mainstay of India's batting, couldn't follow up on his 85 in Dharamsala at Delhi, where he scored just 9.
But India can ill-afford to always rely on Kohli. That's where Rohit and Dhoni need to step up. If Rohit can provide the customary spark at the top, Kohli can get the middle-order to play around him and Dhoni rediscovers his finishing touch, New Zealand will be tested.
In terms of the playing XI, Mandeep Singh, Jayant Yadav and Dhawal Kulkarni can expect an extended stay on the bench considering Dhoni doesn't believe in knee-jerk reactions after just one defeat. The track here has traditionally been to the liking of teams from outside the subcontinent with equal help for bowlers and batsmen. And Tim Southee was quick to point that out.
"Nice to go out there and see some grass on the wicket; but having played here a few times, it's traditionally a pretty good surface for batsmen as well," the Kiwi seamer said.
The dew at this time of the year could be a factor here influencing decision at the toss, but Williamson won't mind defending considering how his team shaped up in New Delhi while defending 242.
But New Zealand, who suffered a top-order collapse in the first ODI and a lower-order flop show in Delhi, will want to fire in unison.
Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi have already had a duck each against their names while registering highest scores of 12, 21 and 6, respectively. Corey Anderson too hasn't fired playing as a specialist batsman up the order.
But Southee said the team promotes a culture where they don't look into the past. "I don't think you can let what happened in the game before influence what's going to happen in the game you are preparing for," he said.
That sentiment should apply to India too.