There's been little to write home about India's tour of New Zealand, which has been badly affected by weather and rain, and that is why the visitors would hope to end the tour with a full game in the third and final ODI on Wednesday.
New Zealand lead the three-match series 1-0, courtesy their seven-wicket win in the first ODI at Auckland. The second game of the series in Hamilton ended as 'no result' because of rain. India had won the three-match T20I series 1-0 before that.
The forecast for Thursday in Christchurch isn't too promising either, with scattered showers expected to keep the Hagley Oval ground staff busy.
Out of five white-ball games, which also included the three-match T20I series, two matches (one T20I and one ODI) didn't yield any result and one game (T20I) was curtailed significantly and ended in a tie via Duckworth-Lewis method.
With the series on the line, Shikhar Dhawan and his men would aim to put up an impactful performance.
The Hagley Oval track has traditionally helped the seam bowlers, with the average score over the past few years for the team batting first being in the vicinity of 230.
The Indian batting in first Powerplay (first 10 overs) has been much talked about and even skipper Dhawan, who has been a prolific ODI opener over the years, understands that to secure his place for the 2023 ODI World Cup, his approach needs a sea change.
His young opening partner Shubman Gill, however, has shown more intent in shot-selection with scores of 50 and 45 not out in the two games. So has Indian cricket's current blue-eyed boy Suryakumar Yadav, whose three sixes in a short 12.5 overs of play at the Seddon Park sent the Indian supporters into raptures.
But the bigger challenge for Indian batting line-up will be to put up an above-par score against New Zealand on a ground where swing bowlers have ruled the roost in the past few ODI games.
And for that, not just the openers or Surya, but also the likes of Rishabh Pant need to step up and be counted.
Pant's ODI record is pretty impressive but currently, the runs have dried up since the tour of England (primarily in 20-over cricket) and he is one player who needs to fire in order to ensure that Indian middle-order looks competitive against a quality Black Caps attack.
Pant's presence and lack of bowling options among the specialist batters also effectively mean that Sanju Samson may have to once again sit out, like the last game where Deepak Hooda, because of his all-round skills, was preferred over the immensely popular cricketer from Kerala.
Since the last match was a washout, it will be interesting to see if the interim head coach VVS Laxman decides to shuffle with the playing XI, especially the bowling attack, where Kuldeep Yadav is yet to get an opportunity.
But to leave out either Yuzvendra Chahal or Washington Sundar will be doing them a disservice.
Shardul Thakur looked pedestrian in the opening ODI in Auckland and, in all likelihood, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar and the fiery Umran Malik will continue to lead the pace attack.
For the New Zealand pacers Matt Henry, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, there couldn't be a better venue to exploit the frailties in India's batting to the fullest.
The track and overcast conditions will also come in handy for the Indian pace attack, with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh looking to swing the ball both ways and trouble the New Zealand top order.
After this series, India will fly to Bangladesh for a tour involving three ODIs and two Tests.
(With PTI inputs)
