India vs New Zealand 4th ODI preview: Can Gill get a place in playing 11?

Indian cricket team led by stand-in captain Rohit Sharma, who will be making his 200th appearance, will look to extend the lead to 4-0 when they lock horns with below-par New Zealand in fourth One Day International (ODI) match at Seddon Park in Hamilton. With the series already sealed, Rohit, who has a good record as stand-in captain and has three double hundreds in ODIs to his credit, would aim to tighten the noose around New Zealand in what could be another batting friendly track at Seddon Park. A 4-0 lead will be India's biggest series win (across formats) in their 52 years of touring New Zealand having first visited the country back in 1967.

 
Will Shubman Gill get a place in 4th ODI?
 

In the absence of Virat Kohli, Indian team management might try young talent of Shubman Gill to explore more options for Number 4 spot going into the ICC World Cup 2019. After winning the third ODI, Kohli gave the hint in a press conference that Gill might get a chance in India playing 11. Billed as one for the future, many experts have found a striking similarity in the 19-year-old Gill's strokes with the ones that Kohli plays effortlessly. Gill averages over 60 in List A games during the Indian domestic season in 2018-19.

"I wasn't even 10 per cent of what he (Shubman) is, when I was 19," Kohli had said after India's series win in Mount Maunganui. Following Kohli's effusive praise, Shastri and Sharma might just give Gill a go and check if he can also be an option at No 4, where Ambati Rayudu has done a decent, if not spectacular, job so far.
 
Is Dhoni fit to play the 4th ODI?
 
The status of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's hamstring injury is not known but according to team sources, there is nothing much to worry about, reports PTI. A decision on Dhoni's availability will be taken before the toss on Thursday. In case Dhoni is available and the team management avoids tinkering with the combination, he will walk in as Virat Kohli's replacement. Kohli has been rested for the remainder of the tour. In case both Gill and Dhoni are included, Dinesh Karthik could well be rested.

New Zealand Team news
 
For New Zealand, everything seems to have gone haywire since the start of the series and skipper Kane Williamson has agreed that they have been completely outplayed by India. Their biggest problem has been the inability to read Kuldeep and Chahal, who have inflicted the maximum damage on the home team. Shami has also been pretty lethal in his first spell. Williamson has got starts but has not been able to convert them with scores of 64, 20 and 28 so far. Martin Guptill, an otherwise dangerous player, has also not been able to survive the new ball. Tom Latham and Ross Taylor have performed occasionally but none has been impactful consistently enough to change the complexion of the game.

 
In the bowling department, the incisive Trent Boult has lacked support and Lockie Ferguson is far from a finished product. He was considered a USP but has been his biggest weakness in the series. Seamer Doug Bracewell and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi have also been mediocre, which makes the job of the 'Black Caps' tougher in the last two games. With all-rounder Jimmy Neesham added to the squad, he could well feature in the playing 11 as the home team seeks some consolation from the humiliation that they have encountered so far.

Here is the playing 11 probables of both the teams

 
India playing 11 probables: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Shubman Gill/Dinesh karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneswar Kumar, Mohammed Shami/Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzuvendra Chahal

New Zealand playing 11 probables: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Jimmy Neesham, Todd Astle/Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

India vs New Zealand 4th ODI: Pitch and match prediction

The wicket of Seddon Park is termed good for batting with teams winning the toss look to field first as chasing side won the last four ODIs played in Hamilton. The highest run chased by a team is 350/9 (NZ) against Australia.

 
India vs New Zealand 4th ODI Live streaming details
 
Date and Day: January 31, 2019 and Thursday
 
Place: The Seddon Park, Hamilton
 
Time: 7:30 am (IST)
 
India vs New Zealand 4th ODI match will be available live on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 in English Commentary and Star Sports Hindi HD in Hindi Commentary. One can also live stream the 1st ODI on Hotstar app and website.
 
Here’s the squad of both the teams:
 
India ODI squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, K Khaleel Ahmed

 
New Zealand ODI squad: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), Henry Nicholls, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Todd Astle, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Matt Henry