Indore: As India prepare to take on New Zealand in the ODI series decider on Sunday, the contest is less about the stakes in the game and more about the challenge of maintaining rhythm in an era of vastly different expectations format to format.
For Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, now playing in only one format, every ODI series is a test of that rhythm. After this assignment, India’s next ODI fixture isn’t until July 6 against England, nearly six months away.
They have immense experience – 1065 internationals between them – but the long gap between games and time away at this stage of their career can force them to significantly alter preparations.
Indore: As India prepare to take on New Zealand in the ODI series decider on Sunday, the contest is less about the stakes in the game and more about the challenge of maintaining rhythm in an era of vastly different expectations format to format.
Coming into this series, Rohit and Kohli warmed up by playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. As they closed what will be their last India practice session for a long time, the focus was on being ready for the game. Trying to stay connected to a format that appears only in short spells can’t be easy, but so far they have been able to ace this challenge.
Rohit scored 202 runs at an average of 101 in the ODI series in Australia and made 146 against South Africa at home, averaging 48. He has so far scored 50 runs in two matches against New Zealand. Kohli scored 74 in Australia, 302 at an average of 151 against South Africa at home, and has scored 116 runs in two matches against New Zealand.
On match eve, that effort to preserve their form was evident. Both batters spent close to 90 minutes each in the nets, facing throwdowns and extended bowling spells. The focus was more on timing, balance and decision-making, built through time in the middle and repetition, although ODIs no longer provide that in abundance.
Arshdeep and rotation
A similar challenge applies to bowlers, perhaps even more acutely. Mohammed Siraj, who has increasingly found himself rotated across formats, spoke about workload and rhythm in the press conference. He was not included in the ODI and T20I squads against South Africa.
“In the last series against South Africa, I was rested because I had bowled nearly 40 overs in the fifth Test. As a fast bowler, rest is important because the workload increases a lot. You need to rest, refuel and then come back focusing on your rhythm and bowling,” he added.
Siraj does not see himself as an “in and out” player in ODIs, yet he also no longer plays all formats. Against New Zealand, Kohli and Rohit are not chasing form but protecting it – ensuring that when the format comes visiting again in England next time, they do not feel like visitors in a format they bossed.
Similar is the case for Arshdeep Singh, who played all the matches across ODIs and T20Is against South Africa, but hasn’t got a look in for the ODIs against New Zealand so far.
“Harshit Rana has bowled very well. You can see that he has been taking wickets with the new ball. Arshdeep also did very well against South Africa,” said Siraj. “If someone else is getting an opportunity now, that is also good. Looking ahead for the World Cup, it gives confidence and exposure to more players, which is important for the future,” explained Siraj.
The question remains whether Arshdeep too is being rotated or if the management is not convinced of his ODI bowling credentials. He has taken 22 wickets in 14 ODI matches.
Indore is expected to remain a batters’ paradise as usual. After the Indian bowling showed some cracks in the second ODI in Rajkot, Arshdeep, who was seen bowling for close to 90 minutes in the nets, could finally be slotted in ahead of Prasidh Krishna.
Inspiration for NZ
New Zealand are chasing a slice of history. They have never won a bilateral ODI series in India. India will look to ensure that their once enviable home record, now under threat with touring sides looking to breach the frontier often now, remains intact. South Africa came close in both the ODI and T20I series after upstaging them in the Test series, something New Zealand did with a 3-0 sweep in 2024.
“Inspiration comes from the fact that you can do things that haven’t been done before that are possible, and obviously we had a very enjoyable time in that Test series, but a white-ball series would be something completely different. There are very few teams that have done that,” allrounder Glenn Phillips said.
New Zealand know that a ODI series win here without some of their main stars will be huge, but they aren’t thinking far ahead.
“Things like making history are pretty cool and opportunities to do that are far and few between. As professionals, we try to train to make sure that any moment, (but) we try to treat it like any other day.”