ODI 4 Preview: India Look for Series Win, Minus Sachin

Sreelata YellamrazuMar 10 2009

The biggest change in the Indian team could well be the absence of Sachin Tendulkar. 2-0 in the series and two matches to play, India will be looking to seal their first ODI series victory in New Zealand.

sachin out

It is hard to recover from the run fest at Christchurch. But both teams must now do it once more at the Seddon Park in Hamilton and it will not be easy for the hosts, even with Sachin Tendulkar set to miss out on the rest of the ODI series in a bid to get fit for the Test series to follow thereafter.

Tendulkar, who scored that enthralling century at Christchurch, also suffered an abdominal injury, a possible tear even, in the course of that innings. It is most unlikely he will be playing this match or the one thereafter as India will want to win it, while preserving Tendulkar for the Tests. This would mean that either Rohit Sharma gets another look in or even Irfan Pathan could come into the picture. If Rohit Sharma does get another chance, it will still be a difficult one as he has not been in great form of late, while Suresh Raina is proving to be a valuable regular, making Sharma’s fight for a spot even harder. This is perhaps premature anticipation but Ishant Sharma could also play if the team management decided he has recovered enough to regain match fitness.

But India, as one would like think, would have fewer worries in the bowling line up than New Zealand, must also be wary of the fact that New Zealand did give them a huge scare in the chase in Christchurch and hence, cannot afford to be complacent if they are win and not share the series.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori returns to the side after his wife delivered a baby boy. But his responsibilities are cut out for him, on and off the field. He will now face the tremendous challenge of holding off the rampaging visitors and also lifting the morale in the dressing room, that would be feeling the pressure of having to win two in two to at least save pride.

One of the biggest losses will be that of Ian Butler, who has injured his thigh and with the added pressure that young Tim Southee has been taken for runs, New Zealand will be putting additional pressure on another rookie, Ewan Thompson. But can he do what the big boys couldn’t?

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