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

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.