India showed their character to bounce back from defeat in the opening ODI against New Zealand to level the series in the second game which means we have a deciding match in Kanpur on Sunday.
New Zealand have shown they can be competitive in this series and they will be out to land the spoils to take extra confidence with them into the T20s which begin later in the week. This has all the makings of a good game of cricket.
India
After offering little with the ball in the opening match of the series, India put right what went wrong in Mumbai and got their just desserts by restricted New Zealand in the second game to set the match up for their batsmen. It could just be that bowling first did the trick, and if that was the case we will only really know for sure during this match, but they have generally bowled well for a while.
The other positive for India from that middle match of the series was the way their middle order batted. There have been times since the Champions Trophy that their middle order has stumbled and either failed to capitalise on a good start or made a bad start even worse. They will fancy their chances in this one.
New Zealand
After a brilliant run chase in Mumbai to get the series off to a winning start, New Zealand will be disappointed with the way they went with the bat in the second match in Pune. That is something they will be out to combat in this decider and with their bowling attack they know if they can go well with the bat they’ll have every chance.
Even when they didn’t have much of a total on the board in the second game in Pune they bowled with credit and made it hard work for India to chase their score down. They have bowled well in India on their last couple of tours now and there is no doubt that will give them the confidence, and more importantly the belief, to come out on top here.
Team News
India made the necessary change to their bowling attack to get the job done in the previous match and I expect them to keep with the same side. The batting worked well so there is no need for India to change.
New Zealand lost the second game but they don’t really have many options to change their top order which is the only place they were lacking in that game. They may well just send the same side out and ask them to perform better.
Green Park
This will be the 15th match that has been held on this Kanpur ground. India have played in all but one of the previous 14 and they have a decent record in those matches too. They have won nine and lost just four. This will be New Zealand’s first match on this ground.
The wicket here is generally good for batting and the boundaries are on the small side so we should expect a high scoring match but after the controversies with the curator from Pune we must tread with an ounce of caution.
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Betting
I would wager the side who chases will win this match as has been the case in the first two matches in the series so it is hard to bet on the match outcome without the knowledge of the toss but whether they bat first or second I think the handicap is a shade on the high side in the favour of New Zealand.
They have been very competitive in this series and I don’t expect them to bat as poorly at the top of their innings as they did in Pune. They have an attack which takes wickets and even though India’s middle order went well in the previous match there is still a vulnerable look to it. Whoever wins this one I think New Zealand can stay close enough to keep the handicap on their side.
Colin de Grandhomme batted much better than I thought he could do in the previous match. I don’t mean that nastily. It is just that I’ve always seen him as a hitter rather than a technically proficient batsman but the way he batted in Pune was encouraging. If he needs to rescue New Zealand again he can but he can also belt it miles so the 16/1 on him top scoring for the tourists could yield a reward.
Tips
WON – Back New Zealand (+5.5wickets/31.5runs) to win 3rd ODI for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
Back them here:
Back C.de Grandhomme Top New Zealand Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 17.00 with Coral
Back him here:
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