India vs New Zealand 2017: India's predicted playing XI for third ODI

The Indian ship, sailing on a wave of euphoria after battering the visiting Australians, crashed into a Ross Taylor-Tom Latham shaped iceberg in the first ODI of the three-match series. However, under the astute leadership of captain Virat Kohli, they weathered the storm to stay the course and level the series 1-1, with a 6-wicket win at Pune.

With the series on the line at Kanpur, take a look at how India could line-up in order to seal the deal:

Openers

Rohit Sharma has established himself as one of the leading openers going around in world cricket at the moment. However, his form this series has been iffy, managing just 27 runs from two matches. He has struggled to deal with the angle generated by left-arm pacer Trent Boult at the start of the innings. However, he will look to end the series on a high with a substantial contribution. With the talent he possesses, you can never write him off.

Shikhar Dhawan was brought back into the squad at the expense of Ajinkya Rahane who had a sensational series against Australia. While Dhawan looked scratchy in the opening game, he was back to his free-flowing best in the second ODI, leading India's run-chase with aplomb. He will retain his place in the setup and look for one more big contribution to help India seal the series.

Middle-order

Kohli will be looking to lead his side to yet another series victory

Virat Kohli had a miserable series against Australia by his standards, registering a single fifty across five matches. However, he was back to his sublime best in the first ODI against New Zealand, at Pune, putting the Kiwi bowling attack to the sword whilst notching up a century. He threw his wicket away in the second game, falling to the part-time bowling of Colin de Grandhomme and will look to right his wrongs and help India maintain their unbeaten streak in ODIs under his stewardship.

Have India finally found a solution to their No. 4 woes? They have tried more than 10 batsmen in that slot since the 2015 World Cup, and none of them has managed to step up. However, Dinesh Karthik established his credentials with a patient 64 in the second ODI against New Zealand, helping steady the ship after the dismissal of Kohli. Another good innings and Karthik could well be set for the future.

After Kedar Jadhav's string of failures, he could finally be axed from the squad which would allow Manish Pandey another opportunity to prove his worth. Pandey has been in and out of the squad in the recent past, and he needs to step up and channel some of the form he showed initially to grab the selectors' attention. However, another failure and it could be the end of the road for him.

Just when it looked like MS Dhoni had hit a purple patch again following a slew of miserable scores, he put paid to that thought with his performances against Australia. Dhoni is being increasingly used up the order due to his inability to go big at the death, but with his sedate pace at the start of his innings, if he gets dismissed early, India's chances take a massive hit. With the 2019 World Cup looming large, selectors may need to start looking beyond the former Indian skipper.

All-rounders

One of India's most important players

Hardik Pandya has had a relatively quiet series, with two wickets and 46 runs from two matches. However, he has shown in the past that he has the ability to explode into life and is arguably one of India's most important players in the limited-overs format. With only two frontline seamers in the side, Pandya will have quite a bit of responsibility if one of them gets taken for runs.

Axar Patel replaced Kuldeep Yadav for the second ODI after sitting out the first and put in a decent shift, picking up the important wicket of Tom Latham just as New Zealand were looking to rebuild their innings. What Axar offers to the Indian team that Kuldeep doesn't is additional firepower lower down the order and with the struggles of India's middle-order recently, they need as much depth in the batting department as they can muster.

Spinners

Chahal has grown by leaps and bounds in the past year

Yuzvendra Chahal struggled in the first ODI and was easily dealt with by Taylor, and Latham especially, who used the sweep shot to good effect against the leggie. However, Chahal fought back strongly in Pune, picking up two wickets. With three spinners in the Indian squad, and only two likely to be selected, Chahal will need to put in strong performances to keep the likes of Kuldeep and Axar out of the team.

Pacers

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has become India's pace spearhead

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has added an extra yard of pace to his arsenal and that, coupled with the swing he generates in most conditions, has been the downfall of many batsmen recently. He also has a lethal yorker which he utilises to great effect at the death.

Jasprit Bumrah, like Bhuvneshwar, has improved by leaps and bounds in the past year, ousting the likes of Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami from the Indian setup. Bumrah's slingy action and deadly yorker have made him one of the best bowlers going around at the moment. Bumrah was spectacular in the second ODI, ending with figures of 2/38 and will be looking to continue that form in the final game.