India, New Zealand players arrive in Kanpur for decisive third ODI

The Indian and New Zealand teams arrived in Kanpur which is the venue for the decisive third and final ODI to be played between the two sides. Green Park stadium has hosted numerous international matches. India had famously played New Zealand in a Test match in 2016. It was also India’s 500th Test match.

Players have always been greeted with flowers when they arrive in the city. In 2016, a special cake was also cut commemorating India’s 500th Test. This time, though the flowers were distributed, as is evident from the pictures, the teams were also presented shawls.

India lost the first match played in Mumbai by six wickets. The fact that South Africa were drubbing Bangladesh elsewhere meant that India lost the no.1 spot in the ICC rankings that they had clinched after their win over Australia. But Virat Kohli’s men went on to level the series in the second match at Pune, winning by the same margin that they had lost in the first match.

The second match was also marred by a sting operation by a TV News Channel aired hours before the start of the match. It showed the Pune pitch curator allowing reporters who posed as bookies to access the pitch and even agreeing it to tweak the conditions according to the way they wanted. The curator has since been suspended and there has reportedly been added scrutiny over the preparations for the third ODI in Kanpur.

Courtesy : indianexpress