New Zealand's form, India's No. 3 in focus as ODI World Cup prep begins

Since the start of 2023, New Zealand have batted first 11 out of 15 times but have posted totals over 250 only four times. Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates haven't had strong partnerships up front and Amelia Kerr - though she is the second-highest run-getter for New Zealand this year in ODIs - hasn't been able to convert starts into big ones. Brooke Halliday's two fifties in five innings have provided stability in the middle order but their batting otherwise hasn't taken off.

Since the T20 World Cup exit at the group stage, Harmanpreet's leadership has been in focus, with former captain Mithali Raj even suggesting India should move on from her as captain. A change at the top is unlikely with an ODI World Cup coming up next year, and Harmanpreet has a chance to turn it around in this series. There are no question marks over her batting form though. She is coming off an unbeaten 103 and 42 in the second ODI against South Africa in June this year.

That the core of the T20 World Cup-winning side including the experienced trio of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu has flown directly from Dubai to Ahmedabad is an indication of how important these three games are for New Zealand. The ODIs are part of the Women's Championship where New Zealand are currently placed sixth on the table with 18 points from 18 matches. Pakistan are seventh (17 points from 24 games) and West Indies are eighth (14 points from 18 matches). With the top five teams and hosts India qualifying directly for the Women's ODI World Cup next year, New Zealand have only six matches in the cycle - New Zealand will host Australia for a three-match series in Wellington in December - to strengthen their spot.

India are yet to find their No. 3 batter in the white-ball formats. Yastika Bhatia was filling that position in ODIs but had average returns. In the last 12 months, India have tried three other players at this position in ODIs - D Hemalatha, Priya Punia and Richa Ghosh. Ghosh is unavailable for this series due to her board exams while Punia was dropped after just one innings on her comeback. In Ghosh's absence, Yastika will be India's first-choice keeper in the XI and is also likely to slot in at No.3. Jemimah Rodrigues has batted in the top order in 21 out of her 30 matches - will India push her up from No. 5?

With Pooja Vastrakar being rested from the series, medium-pacer Arundhati Reddy has big shoes to fill. She made her ODI debut against South Africa in June and picked up three wickets in two matches at an economy of 5.44. Since returning to the national side in T20Is this year, she has looked promising. She was also India's joint-highest wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup. With the ODI World Cup coming up next, Reddy would want to nail down her spot with consistent performances, with India also waiting to test out uncapped seam-bowling allrounders Sayali Satghare and Saima Thakor for the third pace option.

After a 3-0 defeat to Australia in Mumbai, India bounced back to complete a 3-0 series sweep of South Africa in Bengaluru. Even though India are playing at home, the conditions are unfamiliar having played their last ODI in Ahmedabad in 2013. From the current squad, Harmanpreet is the only player to feature in all four previous ODIs at this venue while Mandhana had played three of those.

New Zealand though are coming into the series on the back of two series defeats against England - a 3-0 loss in England and a 2-1 loss in New Zealand. With five wins in nine matches in the last 12 months, New Zealand, full of confidence after the T20 World Cup win - will be keen to turn the tables in the 50-over format.