Kohli’s men aim to keep momentum in series decider

KANPUR: India would aim to play with the same grit and gumption they displayed in the second match in Pune when they face New Zealand in the three-match ODI series decider here on Sunday.

Faced with tremendous pressure after a long time following their loss in the first ODI of the series, the Indian players showed a lot of character as they put up a near flawless performance in the second game to level the series 1-1.

Captain Virat Kohli and his team will back themselves to win their seventh ODI series in a row, when they take the field at the Green Park Stadium, which will be hosting its first-ever 50-over game under lights.

“We look forward to challenges. We spoke about bouncing back, and we have bounced back here [in Pune]. We would look to play a similar sort of game in Kanpur as well,” said Kohli after the six-wicket win over the Kiwis in the second ODI.

Both teams arrived here on Thursday, giving themselves enough time to get used to the cooler conditions in the northern part of India.

India executed their plans perfectly in Pune, especially on the bowling front with in-form pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah doing the job early on as well as in the death overs.

The spinners bounced back well after an off-day in Mumbai. Yuzvendra Chahal, who failed to pick up a wicket in the first game, struck twice while Axar Patel, replacing chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, found the stumps of the in-form Tom Latham. Part-timer Kedar Jadhav bowled eight overs, conceding just 31 runs.

Kohli may not want to tinker with a winning combination, therefore, it remains to be seen whether Yadav gets a chance to play in front of his home crowd on Sunday.

Just like the home team, New Zealand would look to get back to winning ways at Green Park as they remain within touching distance of winning a rare series in India.

For starters, they would have to put up a much better batting effort than what they managed in the second game.

Ross Taylor and Latham had bailed them out in Mumbai with a match-winning 200-run stand after New Zealand had lost their top three for 80 runs.