Pressure will be more on New Zealand in third ODI

Joseph Hoover

Christchurch, Mar 7 (PTI) A confident India will look to
continue their domination when they clash against New Zealand
in the third cricket one-dayer here Sunday, fully aware that
the pressure will be more on the hosts who face a do-or-die
battle.

Leading 1-0, a win Sunday will ensure that India will
not lose the series and they can push for the series-victory
in the last two matches without a more relaxed approach.

But the two rain-marred matches at Napier and Wellington
has not only upset the rhythm of the players to some extent,
but has also put New Zealand in a tricky situation.

If the Blackcaps lose Sunday's crucial day-nighter at
the AMI park, the door to a possible series victory would be
shut on their face.

New Zealand have more at stake than India, who have
gathered steam since their 0-2 rout in the Twenty20s.

Sehwag is in red-hot form and has already logged two half
centuries (77 and 54) in the series and India will loom to him
for yet another explosive start.

The Delhi master blaster has psyched Kiwi bowlers so much
that except for Ian Butler and Daniel Vettori, others are not
sure where to put the ball.

If it is pitched short, Sehwag disdainfully pulls, hooks
and cuts. If the ball is pitched up, he effortlessly heaves it
over the in-field or bisects the fielders with crunchy drives.
Their game plans have all been put in awry.

The Kiwi's biggest challenge, and admittedly their
foremost goal, is to get rid of Sehwag early from the square,
which they have not been successful in the last two ODIs.

However, the Blackcaps mistakenly believe that if they
could get Sehwag early, they could rein in the rest of the
Indian batters.

But Vettori does not seem to realise that it is not
Sehwag who produces most of India's win. But he does set it
up. Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni who
have contributed when it matters most.

The Kiwis would be at peril if they underestimate Sachin
Tendulkar, who has prudently switched to the role of a
moderator.

The Mumbaikar may be 36 years old, but he still has the
fire to take the attack to the rivals, as he did in the
abandoned ODI at the Westpac stadium.

It was the fear of their batting being decimated by the
destructive combo of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma that New
Zealand, who had blatantly prepared green tops on India's
last tour here, opted for flat, hard and brown tracks.

Though Ishant has not played a match since hurting his
right shoulder, Zaheer and Praveen Kumar have combined to
rock the inexperienced Kiwi batting line-up.

Instead of spending sleepless nights over Sehwag, the
Blackcaps would do well to play to pep up their confidence,
which has been at a low since losing the rain-truncated first
one-dayer at Napier by 53 runs.

Unlike India, theirs is an inexperienced side, with a
good crop of batsmen and bowlers. They need to train their eye
on the future, rather than worry about immediate goals.
Perhaps, this spirit would help to exorcise their fear for
Sehwag, their nemesis.

Teams From:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar,
Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina,
Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan,
Munaf Patel, Rohit Sharma, Pargyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma..

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (Captain), Ian Butler, Martin
Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Peter McGlashan, Iain O'Brien,
Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Grant Ellio, Kyle
Mills, Neil Broom, Jeetan Patel.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen, Gary Baxter. Third umpire: Evan
Watkin. Fourth umpire: D Quested. Match referee: Ranjan
Madugalle.

Match starts at 6.30 am IST. PTI JH
AM