NZ vs IND 4th ODI: Top 3 batters to watch out for

India carry a 2-0 lead into the 4th ODI of the five-match series against New Zealand, scheduled for November 13 at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. A victory here would seal the series for the visitors, while the hosts must win to keep the contest alive.

The two sides have already seen significant squad changes heading into this fixture. Shreyas Iyer takes over as India’s captain after Shubman Gill and KL Rahul departed for Test preparations, while several senior New Zealand players, including Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips, have also left the squad for the same reason. With the batting line-ups reshaped on both sides, three batters stand out as the ones most likely to define the match.

Here are the three batters to watch out for in the 4th ODI between New Zealand and India:

1. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma comes into the 4th ODI having managed only 0 and 23 in his first two innings of this series, but his record at Bay Oval tells a different story. Across his previous visits to Mount Maunganui, Rohit has accumulated 149 runs from just two innings at an average of 74.50, making the venue one of his more productive ODI grounds.

With Gill now absent, Rohit is expected to open alongside Ishan Kishan, restoring a familiar top-order structure for India. The Bay Oval surface offers pace and bounce early before settling as the innings progresses, conditions that suit an aggressive opener. If Rohit negotiates the first 10 overs, India’s total could climb significantly from the platform he provides.

2. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has been the standout batter of the series so far, and his numbers at this venue add further weight to his selection here. He struck 74 runs from 51 balls in the 1st ODI, the most eye-catching individual innings of the series to date. At Mount Maunganui specifically, Kohli has compiled 112 runs across three innings, a record that underlines his comfort at Bay Oval.

Batting at No. 3, his role involves anchoring the middle phase and rotating strike while Rohit builds at the top. He is less explosive in his approach than Rohit but has shown a greater tendency to convert starts into substantial scores across this series.

3. Tim Seifert

New Zealand’s batting has returned totals of 185 and 134 in the first two ODIs, and Tim Seifert will be central to any improvement at the top of their order. The wicketkeeper-batter is expected to open for the hosts, and he showed his ability to handle the new ball by scoring 43 deliveries’ worth of resistance for 38 runs against India earlier in this series.

His dual function as both the first-choice gloveman and an opening batter gives New Zealand a compact option at the top, and his value increases further if the hosts win the toss and choose to bat first at Bay Oval.