New Zealand’s tour of India this year has reached its final preview. After being outplayed in the Test series, the Kiwis have bounced back hard in the ODI series. They have played some tough competitive and purposeful cricket and have managed to level the series in the ODIs.

For the first time in the tour NZ has looked the better team out of the two sides and have played like they mean business. Both their wins at Delhi and Ranchi came as they defended a reasonable score and have caused problems for the Indian batsmen.

New Zealand’s key players in form

Their main strike bowlers in Tim Southee and Trent Boult have shared 11 wickets in the series so far and will be key in the decider game as well. Mitchell Santner has been one of the revelation for the Kiwis in the series. His consistent performance has been one of the biggest positives in the Test series and the ODI series as well. Similarly like Santner, Tom Latham has been unsung hero for the Kiwis. He has played some gutsy innings so far in the entire tour and certainly one of the players to look forward to in the future. Also he achieved a rare feat of batting through in the first ODI at Dharmasala.

Skipper Kane Williamson, opener Martin Guptill and middle order batsman Ross Taylor all made their presence felt in the respective ODI’s in the build up to the fifth and final ODI. Going into the final game its the senior players who will need to step up and show their mettle for their team.

India’s over-reliance on Kohli

As far India is concerned, they have played some very good cricket in the series and at times have been rather sub standard. Their over reliance on MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli  to take them to victory has been exposed yet again. Openers Rohit Sharma and  Ajinkya Rahane although have given their team good starts have failed to go on and get a big score. With Suresh Raina missing the ODI series due to illness and Yuvraj Singh not making it to the side, the India batting has looked a bit weaker when Kohli has not performed in the middle order.

In  the two  games India lost, Kohli scored 9 and 45 respectively. In the two matches India won Kohli’s performance  speaks for itself. An unbeaten 85 in the first ODI at Dharmasala followed by an unbeaten 154 at Mohali. Thus India’s performance in this ODI series has been very much defined by the way Kohli ha batted in the series. Come the final game at Vizag, whether something similar will be the story is something to be seen.

Mishra and Jadhav need more support

Indian bowling in the series has also faced problems and lacked the edge. Although Umesh Yadav regularly provided the team early breakthroughs he was rather expensive and the Indian spinners in Axar Patel and Amit Mishra lacked the consistency of the Jadeja-Ashwin combination. Amit Mishra however is sitting on top of the wicket takers list with 10 wickets in the series. MS Dhoni would be expecting that Mishra spins his magic around the Kiwi batsmen in the final and deciding ODI.

Kedar Jadhav has been the surprising package for India with the ball in the series. Very unlikely he has picked up 6 wickets in the series and has been MS Dhoni’s trump card. Every time he has bowled in the series he has provided his team with important breakthroughs. He has been much of a trouble for the Kiwi left handers with his round armish action and the bowling with a lower trajectory. He has defeated the Kiwi batsmen with his bounce which has been their undoing.

With the series drawn level at 2-2 the final game at Vizag will await a household support for team India when they take the pitch at Vishakhapatnam on Diwali. An Indian victory and a series win will be a perfect gift for their fans and supporters  from team India on the festive day.