NZ vs IND 2019: Why is it difficult for India to win the series

Team India is arguably the best team at this moment across all formats of the game. Irrespective of the conditions and formats, Men in blue have been on a dream run for the last couple of years. Things are falling in place for India with the likes of bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal while India found their all-rounders in Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav.

India started the year 2018 by losing the test series in South Africa but they registered their first ODI series victory in South Africa. In England, they lost both the test and ODI series. But Kohli's men gained the momentum back and made a strong statement by winning the test and ODI series in Australia. India won the test and ODI series 2-1 while the T20 series ended in 1-1. Now they are touring New Zealand for 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is.

On the other hand, New Zealand has won all the ODI and test series they played in the last 10 months except the ODI series against Pakistan in UAE which was held on a 1-1 draw. Currently, India is placed at No 2 in ODI rankings behind England while New Zealand occupies No 3. But the conditions in New Zealand are always challenging for any touring nation.

Let's look at the three factors which will make the journey hard for team India in the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand.

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#3 Pitch and conditions

The ball swings a lot in New Zealand conditions.

The pitches in New Zealand offers huge assistance to fast bowlers. The ball tends to come quickly to the bat and the bounce is usually high. The ball swings a lot since most of the grounds are close to the sea. The pitches all over the world are now becoming more batsman-friendly. But New Zealand pitches still offer a lot to seamers even though batsmen have the advantage of smaller ground size.

Apart from all the progress made in recent times, Indian batsmen are still not good at playing against fast bowling. Indian batting unit heavily depends on the top 3. Considering the weakness of Rohit and Dhawan against the swinging and short deliveries, it is going to be a huge task for the top 3 to give a solid start with the bat.

#2 Untested middle order

Vijay Shankar had a good outing against New Zealand A.

India's middle order has been tested rarely since the top 3 was doing the job perfectly, almost all the matches. The last time India toured New Zealand, in 2014, the ODI series went 4-0 in favour of New Zealand with one match held on a tie. In the recently concluded 3-match ODI home series against Srilanka, which they won 3-0, Kiwis got Sri Lanka all out in every match. At home, New Zealand's bowling has enough firepower to run through any batting line-up. Without the contribution of the middle order, India cannot fancy their chances of winning the ODIs. Dhoni is a default choice while the remaining slots will be filled from Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav. Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar may come in handy as the 6th bowling option.

Taylor is the leading run scorer for New Zealand in 2018 averaging 91.28.

New Zealand middle order is well settled with Ross Taylor batting at No 4, followed by Tom Latham at 5 and Henry Nicholls at 6. Taylor has scored 4 fifties and 1 century in his last 5 ODI innings. Latham can keep one end safe while Nicholls has proved his ability to accelerate according to the situations.

#1 Bowling attack

India's death bowling looks weak without Bumrah.

In 2018, Bumrah had picked 22 ODI wickets from 13 matches averaging 16.64 at an economy of 3.63, while Bhuvaneshwar Kumar had only 11 wickets from 14 matches averaging 48.82 at an economy of 5.32. Mohammed Shami had played only 2 ODIs in 2018 picking up 3 wickets averaging 46.67 at an economy of 7.00. With Bumrah being rested India's bowling department look weak. India will miss his toe-crushing yorkers and his ability to bowl in the death overs. But in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia, Shami and Bhuvaneshwar gained their rhythm back by picking 5 and 8 wickets respectively from 3 matches. In New Zealand, the duo will lead the Indian pace attack, while the third seamer spot has to be filled by inexperienced Mohammed Siraj or Khaleel Ahmed. Spinners are hardly expected to get any support from the pitch.

Lockie Ferguson is in red hot form with the ball.

On the other hand, New Zealand's bowling department lead by Trent Boult and Tim Southee looks more settled. They might also bring Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell at some point of the tournament due to their rotation policy. But the man in focus will be Lockie Ferguson, who will occupy the third seamer spot. In the recently concluded ODI series against Srilanka, he picked 6 wickets from 2 matches while he took 11 wickets from 3 matches in the ODI series against Pakistan.

Men in blue have to work really hard out of their skins to win this series against an in-form New Zealand.