Daijiworld Media Network

Auckland, Jan 25 : Under fire at 0-2 down, Team India are on the brink of surrendering the series to New Zealand after having faltered in two successive chases. Everything has went swimmingly well for Brendon McCullum's soldiers. The batsmen have made runs, the bowlers have struck at crucial junctures, the fielding has been nothing short of razor-sharp. The hosts will leave no stone unturned to seal the series before the last two fixtures.

Meanwhile, the forcast is bright and promising. The crowd is building up at Eden Park. As many as 22000 tickets were sold yesterday night. Right then, it is official that Aaron replaces Ishant. For New Zealand, Hamish Bennett comes in for Kyle Mills.

For India, it's time to go hard or to go down as their Number 1 ranking is also on the line. Hello and welcome to the third ODI between India and New Zealand at Eden Park, where India will meet their first drop-in pitch of this series. With Suresh Raina sustaining a damaged tissue on his elbow, Ambati Rayudu is expected to get a look in. Speculations are also rife that Aaron might replace Ishant, who has been guilty of spraying the ball all around the shop. Toss and team information coming up in a jiffy.

Pitch report by Craig McMillan: 'In the four years since Eden park has got redeveloped, the side batting first has struggled. The ground has a even covering of grass. When New Zealand played West Indies a couple of weeks ago they got bowled out for 156. It is a hard surface. There will be pace and bounce. The fast bowlers are going to enjoy this pitch. The boundaries are a hot topic in Eden. Hitting towards third man and fine leg is just 47 metres. The square boundaries are measured at 63 metres.'

Suresh Raina has passed a late fitness test today morning and has been rendered fit to play.. He was also seen fielding at slips during the practise session ahead of the game.

India have won the toss and have opted to field

MS Dhoni: 'We had a day of practise. The batsmen have got starts, they have not been able to convert it into big partnerships. We are looking to bowl first. We have Varun in place of Ishant. He has come back after two years. He has worked hard on his fitness. He is injury-prone but can bowl quicker than others.'

Brendon McCullum: 'We played two excellent games of cricket. We have to replicate the same blue print. We would have bowled first as well. Hamish Bennett comes in for Kyle. We have gone for extra pace today. There seems to be little more in this wicket.'

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni(w/c), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum(c), Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi(w), Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan, Hamish Bennett

Match Preview:

With India's tour to New Zealand having started in the worst possible start with two consecutive defeats, the visitors need to regroup quickly and find the right combination as they go into a must-win match against a gutsy New Zealand in the third one-dayer. Down 0-2 and having lost the world no. 1 tag, the Indian team would be desperate to make amends and stamp their authority in what will be their last chance to make a come back into the five-match series.
India: A loss for Dhoni's men tomorrow will result in their second consecutive series loss after South Africa outside the subcontinent. This after a string of performances that saw them not lose a series for a considerable amount of time. The visitors lost the first ODI at Napier by 24 runs and then went down in the second one-dayer by 15 runs (D/L method) at Hamilton, which dethroned India from the number one ranking in the ODIs. Overall, Dhoni and Co. have lost four of their last five One-dayers, all of which were played outside the sub-continent. This has undoubtedly opened up a number of points for the concerned team to ponder upon.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's preference to chase, opting to bowl first in both matches so far, has back-fired so far. The Indians have looked to contain the batsmen in the middle of the innings before restricting the damage in the death overs, but this strategy has not come out well. It is because not many wickets have fallen until the 35th over. Only three wickets fell before the 35th over in Napier, with Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor batting since the eighth over. It was much the similar case in Hamilton.

R Ashwin has not taken a single wicket in the last two ODIs. But the blame doesn't lie with him alone, since Dhoni uses his main bowlers in short bursts and makes them bowl during the powerplays as well as death overs. If the idea is to contain runs rather than taking wickets, it is precisely where the Indian bowling is failing. Ashwin has conceded runs at 5.89 per over in the last five matches, while Ishant Sharma (6 wickets) has conceded at 6.12 per over in four games.

Ravindra Jadeja (3 wickets) has conceded at 6 per over, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 wickets) has played only three matches and gone for 5.73 per over. Mohammad Shami is by far the most expensive bowler, giving away runs at 6.70, but that is negated by his ability to take wickets -- 16 in five matches.

There's not much better news on the batting front as well. The openers -- Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma -- have produced their best opening stand in the last four ODIs on foreign soil, worth a meagre 22 runs. There has been a marked difference in the manner they have performed, both as a pair and as individuals, ever since India finished their home leg of this 2013-14 season. While they played handsome hands with some regularity in chases of 300-plus at home, in South Africa and now here in New Zealand, they have struggled to find the optimum balance between attacking stroke-play and curbing their natural instincts to give the team a solid start.

At number four, Ajinkya Rahane has been impressive in patches in the games so far and it must have been a relief for the team to see someone other than Virat Kohli or Dhoni scoring runs and also standing up to the rivals. Suresh Raina is a doubt to play in the do-or-die encounter as he has injured his elbow during a training session. Whilst batting in the nets, Raina picked up a knock on his left arm, treated with ice-packs and heavily bandaged. But if he is able to pick his bat, he is expected to play, in what is arguably a make-or-break game for him.

With the series on the line here, Dhoni must re-think of the playing XI with Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey and Varun Aaron sitting on the bench.
Key Players: Virat Kohli has, undenaiably been India's best player - but even he has not been able to help the team out of the trouble the bowlers seem to get them into. If the bowlers do not pull up their socks and put on a decent show, India will need atleast a couple more Kohlis to stem the rot.
New Zealand: After a disappointing tour of Bangladesh late last year, everything seems to be working for New Zealand, playing at home. First they decimated West Indies and then, much to everyone's surprise, are just one win away from taking an invincible 3-0 lead over world champions India in the five-match series.

Home advantage has been a key factor in New Zealand's success but few expected them to dominate India like they did in Napier and Hamilton. Their batsmen have piled on the runs and their bowlers have varied the pace intelligently, to keep a powerful Indian batting in check, mostly. Barring Virat Kohli and to an extent MS Dhoni, none of the others has actually made an impression yet on the Kiwi attack.

New Zealand's fielding has been sharp and aggressive. Under Brendon McCullum, the Black Caps are sending out strong signals to the rest of the world before the World Cup next year: they are ready for the big tournament and will be tough nuts to crack at home. Looking at how the reigning world champions have struggled, it does look like New Zealand will be a major threat in the 2015 World Cup.
Key Players: Kane Williamson has been brilliant at number three and is the sort of player who can accelerate at will after a period of solidity. It gets only worse with the likes of Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson to follow.

Anderson's power hitting has not only bailed New Zealand out in the death overs but has dented the psyche of the Indian bowling.

Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan will once again be expected to take the key wickets for India.