Auckland: With the series already sealed, India will have the opportunity to give much-needed game time to the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy when they take on New Zealand in the fourth and penultimate T20 International here on Friday.
Both the spinners have played sporadically over the past couple of months with the team management packing the side with batters till number eight. Given the high-scoring contests so far, the strategy has worked out well for the visitors, who have a winning 3-0 lead.
But as stakes are significantly lower in the last two games, the Indians might just be tempted to experiment with their combination.
While Chakaravarthy has battled indifferent form over the past six months, Kuldeep has time and again underlined his immense value to the side by picking up wickets in the middle overs.
The left-arm spinner played two games in the home series against the West Indies and was not considered for the first three of the ongoing rubber against the Black Caps.
Benching him further will not do a lot of good to Kuldeep’s confidence but for him to come in, the team will have to compromise on the mindset of having a long batting line-up.
The two spinners that played in the third T20 were all-rounders Axar Patel and Naman Dhir, who did not even get to bowl.
Axar, who has an economy rate of 7.70 in 115 games, has leaked 9.58 runs per over in the series thus far with just a couple of wickets to show for his efforts.
In the pace bowling department, veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed flashes of brilliance in the death overs of the previous game in Wellington, landing yorkers consistently in his final over.
However, he has been a tad expensive with 139 runs conceded off his 72 balls in the first three games. In his first international series in four years, Bhuvneshwar would be looking to improve on those numbers.
Prince Yadav was preferred in place of Mayank Yadav in the last two games. It remains to be seen if Mayank returns for more game time or the team sticks with the impressive Prince.
There is still no clarity on the availability of Ishan Kishan, who missed the last two matches due to a groin injury. If he remains unavailable, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will get another opportunity to entertain the crowd with his rare hitting prowess.
He was at his ballistic best in Wellington but was overshadowed by a special effort from Abhishek Sharma.
Nitish Reddy has been playing ahead of Shivam Dube but now with the series in the bag, the former could be rested.
For New Zealand, the biggest challenge has been posed by the Indian top-order. Sanju Samson, Abhishek and Sooryavanshi have exploded in patches to make life difficult for the home bowlers.
The firepower that India possess is unmatched at the moment and was on full display in Wellington where the visitors hammered a record 118 in the first six overs.
Captain Mitchell Santner has been excellent with his left-arm spin but has not got much support from his teammates.
India’s left-handers were able to dominate off-spinner Michael Bracewell in Wellington after faltering in the first two games, adding to New Zealand’s woes.
For starters, Santner would be hoping to win the toss for the first time in the series. Considering the conditions, bowling first has been the preferred template.
After Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson has also been ruled out of the series due to a calf injury, forcing the team management to redraw their bowling plans.
