IND vs NZ T20I: Pressure mounts on Dhoni's batting position after 2nd match loss

Mahendra Singh Dhonis batting position will be under spotlight as India aim to go for the kill against a gutsy New Zealand in the third T20I despite weather threatening to play spoilsport today The series is level at 11 and just like the preceding Australia series where the seriesdecider T20 at Hyderabad was a washout there are chances that the winner takes it all encounter against the Black Caps could meet the same fate with forecasts of rain by the Meteorological department The Virat Kohliled India team has been on a roll in recent times but has faced stiff resistance from an enterprising New Zealand usually known to punch above its weightMS DhoniIt will be nearly three decades 29 years since the city witnessed an international match and it has become all the more significant after calls to replace Dhoni from the shortest format gaining momentum Former India great VVS Laxman in no uncertain terms has said that while Dhoni can still be a part of ODIs its time to groom someone new in the shortest formatWhile 49 off 37 balls with a strikerate of 132 may not be all that bad but the former captains inability to rotate strike during the past one year has been a cause of concern In Dhonis innings he had scored 26 runs in boundaries from five deliveries 3x6 2x4 and managed only 23 from the remaining 32 deliveries which is far less than run a ball It will be interesting to see where Kohli and chief coach Ravi Shastri slot Dhoni in the next gameA school of thought suggests that Dhoni will be suited at No 4 in case India lose early wickets as it will give him time to settle down The Indian teams performance has been one of contrast in the first two gamesBhuvneshwar backs MahiIndia seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar however backed underfire Dhoni We dont think much about that You look over his records he is a legend and whatever he has done he did it for the country So no one in the team has any doubts about him the seamer said on the eve of the final T20I They outplayed New Zealand in the first T20 International by 53 runs and then were crushed by 40 runs in the second game where Colin Munro took the bowling apart with a blistering hundredWhile batting mdash save Kohlis 65 off 42 balls was disappointing the bowlers also did not cover themselves in glory with the fielders also having a belowpar day Dropped catches hurt Indias chances too while debutant Mohammed Siraj had a rough time However the good work by Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped keep New Zealand below 200It remains to be seen if the team management gives Siraj another opportunity in a crucial game or opts for an extra batsman in his place Kohli admitted after the loss at Rajkot that the batsmen were not good enough and stressed the need for all to chip in The visiting New Zealand side which came into the T20 series as the No1 ranked side has since been displaced by Pakistan The Kiwis however can regain the top spot by beating India in the final game Captain Kane Williamson was happy after the team turned things around after the loss in game one I guess it was a contrasting performance from the last game An improved performance on all sides we need to keep doing this to beat India here and going on to the next game we need to repeat this Williamson said after the win in RajkotAlso readVirender Sehwag Team Bosses Must Brief Dhoni About T20 RoleKiwis fighting spiritThe Kiwis have been competitive and lost the ODI series narrowly and proving to be difficult customers in the T20s too While the batsmen have done well to counter the Indian bowlers especially the spinners along with seamer Trent Boult have put their hand up when it matters the most Legspinner Ish Sodhi who wasnt part of the original squad has been a revelation and kept the India batsmen under check with his clever variations Boult rocked the host teams toporder in Rajkot getting Rohit Sharma and Dhawan cheaply which proved vital in the final analysis Allrounder Hardik Pandya has gone off the boil since the backend of the Australia series but the captain defended him Pandya wont mind a return to form in a highstakes game0 Number of T20I series India have won against New Zealand