Wellington, Jan 30:
An unassailable lead has opened up the window for experimentation but there will be no letup in India’s intensity when they face a heartbroken New Zealand team in the fourth T2o International here tomorrow.
Mohammed Shami and Rohit Sharma combined to pull off a thrilling win via a Super Over in the third game for a 3-0 lead and a maiden T20I series win on New Zealand soil.
There is only a short turnaround time for the last two matches, back-to-back in Wellington and Mt. Maunganui on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Both teams spent Thursday travelling from Hamilton to Wellington, and with a similar tight schedule for the final game of the series as well, there seems to be little chance of nets for either match.
Sundar is part of Kohli’s new-ball strategy on the big Australian grounds, so he can expect a run-in over the next two games. Saini could replace Shardul Thakur, especially if Sundar adds his batting depth to the lower order.
The final question would be over Jasprit Bumrah’s inclusion. While he had an off night in Hamilton, there ought to be thoughts about his workload. He is part of both the ODI and Test squads, and is a shoe-in for the T20 World Cup later on as well.
While there have been no concerns about any injury issues, the management needs to be wary of overplaying him in non-consequential bilateral matches.
This was a previously prevalent practice in the build-up to the 2019 ODI World Cup, and the trio of Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya all suffered major injuries in the aftermath of that tournament.
It remains to be seen if the powers that be will mitigate this risk factor in their planning and preparation for the challenges ahead.
For New Zealand, there is a straightforward change coming up. Colin de Grandhomme is no longer with the squad, giving up his spot for batsman Tom Bruce.
This could be an easy swap for the hosts given that they have been light in the middle order during the past three matches.
Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (wk), Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Tom Bruce, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Hamish Bennett, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner.
Match starts at: 12.30pm IST. (PTI)
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