New Zealand will host India for the fourth Women's ODI of the series on 22nd February at Queenstown. New Zealand have already won the series by taking a 3-0 lead. In the first ODI, they posted 275 and restricted India to 213. In the next two, they chased targets over 270 with ease. India batted brilliantly, perhaps better than they ever have in their history, but their bowlers let them down when they set out to defend two sizable totals.
New Zealand have been using this series to prepare for the upcoming World Cup. They have not been shy to experiment. They have already used all 15 players in the squad at least once, and brought Lauren Down for the first time in the ODI series in the last match. Down made an unbeaten 64 to help New Zealand complete the chase in the third ODI.
Expect New Zealand to make a few changes from the last match, in both batting and bowling. Sophie Devine may drop down to the middle order, getting Maddy Green back to the top. Jess Kerr may also be back after resting in the third ODI.
India, on the other hand, have missed Smriti Mandhana at the top of the order. However, her replacement S. Meghana has impressed. In the last match, she outscored Shafali Verma in a 100-run stand in just 13 overs. Even if Mandhana returns to the XI, Meghana may keep her place. However, that may be at the cost of Harmanpreet Kaur, who has failed on the tour and may benefit from a break.
Among bowlers, India will hope for more support for the talismanic Jhulan Goswami. She has picked up five wickets in two matches, and will hope for Meghna Singh to return and provide better support than Renuka Singh or Pooja Vastrakar. They may also recall Rajeshwari Gayakwad, who looked good in patches.
Likely XIs
New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, Amelia Kerr, Amy Satterthwaite, Sophie Devine (c), Lauren Down, Katey Martin (wk), Lea Tahuhu, Jess Kerr, Hannah Rowe, Rosemary Mair
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, S. Meghana, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (c), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Richa Ghosh (wk), Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Fantasy Tips
- New Zealand's top order continues to deliver strong performances. Amelia Kerr, Satterthwaite, Bates should all be good picks for fantasy, along with Meghana and Verma from India.
- Amelia Kerr is also a strong all-rounder option, along with Sharma and Rana.
- It will be interesting to see the two bowling attacks. However, Goswami and Tahuhu should be handy picks.
Fantasy XI
Katie Martin (wk); Amy Satterthwaite (c), Suzie Bates, S. Meghana, Shafali Verma; Amelia Kerr, Deepti Sharma; Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Lea Tahuhu, Hannah Rowe