Mohammed Siraj press conference: preparing for series decider vs New Zealand
After an intense three-hour training session in India on Saturday, Arshdeep Singh could return to the XI, possibly at the expense of Prasidh Krishna. It will be interesting to see if India give a debut to batting all-rounder Ayush Badoni, a useful off-spinner, for the injured Washington Sundar and omit Nitish Kumar Reddy from the final eleven.Reddy finished in just two overs in the second ODI and was criticized for not taking his chances by India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.India last lost a bilateral ODI series at home in March 2023 when Australia overturned a 0–1 deficit to win 2–1.Having won their first Test series in India 3-0 in November 2024, New Zealand, who have traveled to these shores for bilateral ODIs since 1988, will be looking to do the same in ODIs.Considering this is an inexperienced Black Caps team – eight players are touring India for the first time and fielded two debutants in the first two matches – it will be a huge success.Pacer Kristian Clarke, who took 3-56 in Rajkot, played his first ODI in Vadodara, while left-arm spinner Jaydon Lennox made a decent debut in Rajkot, taking 1/42 in 10 overs.Daryl Mitchell, with his immense appetite to score runs against India in India in ODIs, proved to be a major thorn in the flesh for the Men in Blue.Mitchell’s last four ODI scores against India in India were: 130 (127), 134 (119), 84 (71), 131* (117).