India's Predicted Playing XI for the 5th ODI against New Zealand

The New Zealand bowlers made a stunning comeback in the 4th ODI as they cleaned up the star-studded Indian batting line-up for a paltry total of 92 runs in the first innings. Later, the Kiwi batsmen made short work of the target and chased it down inside 15 overs to record their first victory of this series.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli had been rested for the remaining fixtures of the tour so, Rohit Sharma was appointed as the captain of the side in his absence. However, the Indian batting order failed miserably as tail-ender Yuzvendra Chahal emerged as the top scorer of the innings.

The same thing had happened to the Indian team under Rohit Sharma's captaincy earlier against Sri Lanka at Dharamsala where the Lankan pacers shattered the home side's batting line-up.

But, captain Rohit Sharma went on to score a double century in the next match of that series. So, it will be interesting to see in which mindset do Rohit Sharma and co. enter the fifth ODI of the series scheduled for 3rd February.

On that note, let's take a look at India's Predicted XI for the fifth ODI against New Zealand at Wellington.

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Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

New Zealand v India - ODI Game 1

Rohit Sharma will be leading the Indian team in the final one-day of the series. The stand-in captain would love to get some runs under his belt after a poor outing at Hamilton in the 4th ODI. The Hitman has scored 167 runs in the series and is the 3rd highest run scorer amongst both the sides.

Shikhar Dhawan has been the most successful batsman of the series with a tally of 182 runs in 4 matches. Dhawan has scored two half-centuries in the series but the left-handed opener would be looking to end the series with a century in Wellington.

Middle Order - Shubman Gill, Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik

New Zealand v India - ODI Game 2

Shubman Gill received his maiden ODI cap in the 4th ODI but the U-19 star failed to perform to his potential. He was sent back to the pavilion by left-arm pacer Trent Boult when he was batting on 9. The teen batsman would be looking to make the most of the opportunity he has received in the 5th ODI.

Ambati Rayudu has had a mixed bag of success and failures in the series thus far. Batting at number 4, Rayudu played well in the 2nd and 3rd match against New Zealand but was dismissed for a duck in the 4th game. To establish himself as the strongest contender for the number 4 position, Rayudu needs to play a big inning at Wellington.

Dinesh Karthik locks his place in the XI as the team's wicket-keeper. MS Dhoni is currently sidelined due to an injury and so, Karthik will likely don the gloves in Dhoni's absence in the last game of the series.

All Rounders - Vijay Shankar and Hardik Pandya

Pandya will look to continue his comeback

Kedar Jadhav has failed to impress with the bat in the series and so, it would be good if Team India gives Vijay Shankar a chance in the final ODI. He was a part of the playing XI in the initial games but was dropped in Hardik Pandya's favour.

The all-rounder did not even get an opportunity to showcase his batting skills and thus, Rohit Sharma must include Shankar in the last ODI of the series.

Hardik Pandya has become more of a bowling all-rounder nowadays as the Indian team has been using him as their third seamer and also, send him to bat lower down the order. Pandya performed well with the ball in the 3rd one-dayer picking 2 wickets in his spell of 10 overs and so, Pandya should continue in that role at Wellington as well.

Fast Bowlers - Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

New Zealand v India - ODI Game 1

Mohammad Shami has been India's most successful pace bowler in the first 3 matches of the series. The right-arm fast bowler had picked 7 wickets in 3 games and had completely troubled the home side's batsmen.

However, Khaleel Ahmed was included in place of him in the 4th ODI. Rohit Sharma did not state the reason why but it seems like he wanted a right-left combination in the bowling attack.

Shami gets limited opportunities in ODI cricket due to the presence of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the squad and so, dropping him at a time when he had almost established himself as the team's strike bowler made little sense.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the lone Indian bowler to be amongst the wickets in the 4th ODI. The Meerut-born pacer scalped 2 wickets of the opposition in the mandatory powerplay and once again proved that he is one of the best powerplay bowlers of the world.

Spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal

The spin bowling duo has been the key reason behind India's success

The prime reason why India has sealed an unassailable lead in the ongoing series is the spin bowling duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kuldeep Yadav has picked 8 wickets in the 4 matches of the series. The left-arm chinaman spinner has an economy rate of 4.31 which shows the level to which he has dominated the New Zealand batsmen. Yadav already has 2 four wicket-hauls in the series and he would be looking to add one more to that tally.

Yuzvendra Chahal has played the perfect supporting role to Kuldeep Yadav in the series. Though Chahal has leaked runs at an economy rate of 5.74 in the series, he has provided the team with crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs.

Both the spinners are genuine wicket-takers and have been the main pillar of the Indian bowling attack of late.