Mumbai
Modern cricket practice sessions can be frantic and chaotic. Surprisingly, among all the practice drills India carried out at the Wankhede Stadium today, the drills set up by fielding coach R Sridhar seemed to be the most meticulous and painstaking.

Fielding might seem like the smallest aspect of training, but it is clear that since the Champions Trophy Virat Kohli has laid down the law to his players and the support staff that the fielding level needs to be raised. So much has been the emphasis on fitness and fielding that experienced players such as Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh find themselves on the bench and tests such as the ‘Yo-Yo’ — to check a player’s endurance level — have been made mandatory.

No doubt India’s form with the bat and ball in the 50-over format has been sensational, but Kohli wants his team to be the complete package ahead of the 2019 World Cup. Conceding 15-20 free runs while fielding is something he is not prepared to tolerate.

A series against New Zealand at home is another opportunity for India to fine-tune their fielding and enhance their catching, as well as to find a solution for the No. 4 slot in the batting order.

On the eve of the first game of the three-match ODI series, Kohli said: “Rahane is in a good head space as opener and we don’t want to disturb that.” This means Manish Pandey will be given another shot at securing the No. 4 slot and Shikhar Dhawan will slip back to the top of the order. The No. 4 slot continues to be a difficult hole to plug for India because they need a batsman who is able to adapt to various match scenarios. Pandey might be at his fluent best through the middle overs of the innings, but the Karnataka batsman has looked out of his depth when India have lost two early wickets.

A couple of times during the ODI and T20I series against Australia, when Pandey strode to the wicket inside the first 10 overs, his technique was exposed against the moving ball. His style of staying leg-side of the ball might present him scoring opportunities through the off-side, but against the hard new ball he looks quite vulnerable.

The factor that is in favour of Pandey is that the team believes his unconventional scoring areas make him an X-factor, difficult to bowl to during the middle overs. The other option India have is to play Dinesh Karthik, but it is unlikely he will be thrown into the deep end in the first match of the series.

One person Pandey can look to imitate is New Zealand’s Ross Taylor. The Kiwi No. 4 has amassed 5,569 runs at that position at an average of 48, with 15 100s and 32 50s.

For the Black Caps to be competitive in the series, they will need Taylor, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson to be at their prime, especially given the fragile and inexperienced middle/lower order.

Williamson is aware of the fact that his side is lacking experience in the middle order. But, instead of looking at it as the weak link, the Black Caps skipper believes it provides an opportunity for the New Zealand A players who excelled against India A in their recent series.

“Yes, look we have got a relatively new middle order, some guys with injuries, some guys with some good opportunities that certainly deserve their position and it’s exciting,” he said.

Going by the recent history of the Wankhede pitch, it is likely New Zealand will face a batting shootout against India and will need all their batsmen to be competitive.

Both captains believe the wicket would be good for batting, and the red soil of the track would ensure that the ball would come on to the bat. But the extended monsoon means the pitch is unlikely to be as benign as it was during the previous ODI at the venue, when South Africa amassed a record score of 438/4 in October 2015.