The India vs New Zealand ODI series has set up a thrilling finale as the contest stands evenly poised at 1-1 after the first two matches.

With both sides claiming one victory apiece, all eyes now turn to the third and decisive ODI, scheduled to be played at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday, January 18. The winner of this match will walk away with the series, adding extra intensity to an already high-stakes encounter.

IND vs NZ 3rd ODI: Probable Playing XI

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (c), Zak Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Jayden Lennox

Holkar Cricket Stadium Pitch Report

The surface at Indore’s Holkar Cricket Stadium heavily favours the batters and generally produces high-scoring encounters. Widely regarded as one of the best batting wickets in India, the pitch is flat and true, allowing the ball to come onto the bat cleanly. This enables batters to play through the line with confidence and time their strokes freely, making run-scoring relatively straightforward, especially once the innings settles.

Fast bowlers may find a hint of movement with the new ball during the early overs, but this assistance is short-lived. As the game progresses, the surface tends to settle further, becoming even more batter-friendly and offering very little help to bowlers. Spinners, too, often struggle to extract turn or grip from the wicket.

Adding to the challenge for the bowlers are the short boundaries and quick outfield at this venue, which regularly result in a steady flow of fours and sixes. Dew is another major factor, particularly in the second innings, making it harder for bowlers to grip the ball and control their lengths. As a result, teams winning the toss usually prefer to bowl first, knowing that chasing targets under lights is generally the easier option.

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Holkar Cricket Stadium Stats and Records

• Total matches: 12
• Matches won batting first: 7
• Matches won bowling first: 5
• Average 1st innings score: 292
• Average 2nd innings score: 243
• Highest total recorded: 418/5 (50 Overs) by India vs West Indies
• Lowest total recorded: 97/10 (24 Overs) by South Africa Women vs Australia Women
• Highest score chased: 294/5 (47.5 Overs) by India vs Australia
• Lowest score defended: 247/9 (50 Overs) by India vs South Africa

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