Browsing: decider

Dhoni during a practice session in Vishakhapatnam. (AP Photo) VISAKHAPATNAM: The main focus at the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Stadium practice arena was on India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was seen taking tennis ball throwdowns, to get used to the bounce of the pitch on the eve of the series-deciding fifth and final game against New Zealand on Saturday.
After that Dhoni faced the conventional white ball and practised his trademark shots in a lengthy session at the nets.
A fit-again pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the last ODI in Ranchi, bowled with vigour as eight Indian players turned up for the optional practice session.
The weather remained bright and sunny, clearing any apprehension of a downpour due to cyclone Kyant, which has subsided.
Head coach Anil Kumble engaged in a long one-on-one session with Kedar Jadhav, who has stunned many with his exploits, picking up six wickets from four matches.
The series poised at 2-2, India’s other top-order batsmen — Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli — stayed away from the nets.
Included in place of Bumrah in the last one-day international, Dhawal Kulkarni bowled full and lacked control in Ranchi, conceding 8.42 runs per over for his 1/57 as New Zealand got off to a splendid start.
With Bumrah looking fit, he may be brought back into the playing XI on Saturday.
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Taylor termed India outstanding at home. (Getty Images) VISAKHAPATNAM: Eyeing a historic bilateral ODI series win in India, New Zealand senior batsman Ross Taylor on Thursday said they are hungry to win the five-match series decider on Saturday and make up for the 0-3 whitewash in Tests.
“You don’t often win series away from home especially in the sub-continent. It’s a pretty exciting time. Hopefully we can get better than what we have in the past,” the former New Zealand captain told the New Zealand Cricket website as they checked into the coastal Andhra city this evening.
New Zealand have never won a bilateral ODI series against India in India.It is in sharp contrast to their 18-11 record in India in a multi-team tournament.
But having defeated India by 19 runs in Ranchi yesterday, Kane Williamson and Co are determined to return home on a high after being on the road since the Zimbabwe tour in July.
“Four months on the road becomes tough but going into a decider it’s pretty easy to get up for. We have not won a series here. We are looking forward to it. We know what we need to do to win here,” Taylor, who had captained the side on their last tour in 2010 in a 0-5 result, added.
Terming India ‘outstanding at home’ he said: “Hopefully we can continue the progress we have made in the last couple of games. Hopefully we can replicate our performance in three days time.”
Williamson read the conditions beautifully in Ranchi to opt to bat as Martin Guptill’s 72 took them to 260/7 which proved to be a winning total on a difficult Ranchi wicket.
“It was a pretty tough wicket. Martin and Latham got us to a good start. Once the ball got softer, it showed how tough it was to rotate the strike.
“Kane was struggling out there as well. But we were always confident to defend 260. We picked up crucial wickets along the way. Happy with the result. Going into the match with six bowlers gave Kane a bit of leeway with the bowling changes. It was pretty tough once the ball got a bit older. But we knew we had to keep wickets in hand. It was never going to be easy to score 80 or 90 in the last 10.”
Winter may have already set in Ranchi, but surprisingly there was no dew yesterday.
“We were fortunate that there was no dew out there. It shows a lot of character, not only from the side but the team management. We have been on the road for a long period of time but three more days to get ourselves up for a very crucial match.”
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