India-New Zealand: Fourth ODI Preview

Watch out for

Suresh Raina: In five games in New Zealand so far, Raina has scored 178 runs on 112 balls—an average of 89 at an astonishing strike rate of 159. The absence of Tendulkar will probably give him the opportunity to bat up the order as well.

Daniel Vettori: Back after missing the previous game, Vettori's ten overs will be crucial in reining in the Indians. It's a must-win game for New Zealand; expect their captain to rise to the occasion.

Team news

The return of Vettori will be a huge relief for New Zealand, whose bowlers were battered all over the park on Sunday. Tim Southee was a victim of that bowling debacle and has been dropped from the squad.

Ian Butler, who is out with a thigh strain, will be missed, though—at an economy rate of 5.85, he has been one of the more stingy bowlers in the series so far.

The changes mean New Zealand will try out debutant Ewen Thompson, whose left-arm fast-medium will offer more variety to the beleaguered bowling attack.

The abdomen injury to Tendulkar has forced India to change their winning combination. Rohit Sharma is the likely replacement, though Irfan Pathan is an option as well.

The other change could be the inclusion of Ishant Sharma, who missed the first three games due to injury but bowled in the nets in Hamilton. If fit, he will come in place of Munaf Patel.

Lineups

New Zealand (likely) 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 Peter McGlashan (wk), 7 Grant Elliott, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Ewen Thompson, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Iain O'Brien.

India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Zaheer Khan.

Watch the live stream: India vs New Zealand Fourth ODI