New Zealand target rare series win in India
Apart from a one-off T20I in 2012, the visitors have not won a bilateral series of any format in India
Big picture: Santner and Hardik impress
India and New Zealand have travelled the length and breadth of the country for six games in 14 days and we are finally at the end, with the T20I series tied at 1-1. It's time for one last push, and then please remember to put those tray tables in the upright and locked position.Form guide
India WLWLW (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)New Zealand LWTLL
In the spotlight: Kishan and Sodhi
Ishan Kishan scored 210 in one innings in December. In the next eight, he's scored less than half that. This India team insists on giving its incumbents a long rope. Plus Kishan doubles up as the their wicketkeeper and presents a hard-hitting left-hand option at the top of the order. These are pluses everybody looks for in the modern game. So his place is probably safe, but still, wouldn't he love a match-defining innings in a series decider…Team news: Malik in for Chahal?
Ahmedabad may not want to do what Lucknow did - its already been in the eye of a storm before - in which case India might be tempted to bring back Umran Malik in place of Yuzvendra Chahal.Pitch and conditions: The return of the belter?
The Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad has typically been a high-scoring venue for T20Is, with three of its last five games producing totals in excess of 160 in both innings, including a 224 for 2. The weather is set fair.Stats and trivia
- Apart from a T20I series in 2012, which ended up being a one-match affair, New Zealand have never won a bilateral series in any format in India.
- Kishan's 19 off 38 in the last game is the third-slowest innings of 30 or more balls by an opener from a Full Member country in T20Is. There were, of course, mitigating circumstances.
- There are 44 players with a batting average above 40 and a strike rate above 130 in T20Is. Two of the top three have been on show in this series: Suryakumar Yadav (47.17 and 175.63) and Devon Conway (47.42 and 130.47)
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo