NZ vs IND 3rd ODI Preview: India Can Clinch the Series in Hamilton, but Rain Clouds Hang Over Seddon Park

India one win from the series

The NZ vs IND 3rd ODI is at Seddon Park, Hamilton, on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, starting at 7.30am IST. India lead the five-match series 2-0 after two rain-affected DLS wins: by five wickets in the 1st ODI at Eden Park, and by four runs in the 2nd ODI in Wellington, where Gurnoor Brar took 4 for 30. Another win would seal the series with two games to spare.

Remaining schedule (IST):

• 3rd ODI – Tue 10 Nov, Hamilton, 7.30am
• 4th ODI – Fri 13 Nov, Mount Maunganui, 7.30am
• 5th ODI – Sun 15 Nov, Mount Maunganui, 7.30am

In India, the series is on the Sony Sports Network, with live streaming on SonyLIV.

The big story: weather and the pitch

Rain has followed this series around, and Hamilton looks no different. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo on Sunday, Seddon Park head groundsman Karl Johnson said the ground had a lot of rain on Saturday and that the forecast "isn't great" for Monday and "matchday is not flash either".

Because of the weather, his staff have had to fast-track the pitch. They marked the ends early and stopped watering sooner than usual, because pitches "sweat a bit" when they sit under covers. Johnson said the aim is a typical ODI surface with little seam movement, and that Seddon Park's Patumahoe soil "does dry pretty quick", which helps.

This matters because the first two ODIs were played on fast-bowler-friendly pitches. New Zealand were sent in both times and bowled out in 40.2 overs at Eden Park and 41 overs in Wellington, without reaching 200 either time. ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball data shows good-length fast bowling in this series has averaged 12.75 at an economy rate of 2.56, the most rewarding of any ODI series in 2026. The T20Is on the same tour were the opposite, including New Zealand's record 259 at Eden Park.

India: the Siraj question

India's batting is close to settled, with Shubman Gill captaining, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. The pace attack is where the questions are.

• Gurnoor Brar is the leading wicket-taker in the series and was Player of the Match in Wellington.
• Anshul Kamboj has bowled with tight control, and Auqib Nabi took two early wickets in Wellington, including his first international wicket.
• Mohammed Siraj joined the squad in Wellington after the A tour and is an experienced option. The team has not said whether he will play in Hamilton. Our earlier piece on Siraj joining the ODI group has the background.

ESPNcricinfo's Karthik Krishnaswamy argued this week that India's hardest job before the 2027 World Cup is judging seamers fairly after two series on extreme pitches: the very flat home series against West Indies, and now these seaming New Zealand surfaces.

There is a squad change after this game too. Gill leads in the first three ODIs, and Shreyas Iyer takes over for the last two. Gill is expected to leave the ODI group after Hamilton to prepare for the Test series, which starts on 19 November in Wellington.

New Zealand: must-win and short-handed

New Zealand are without Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman for the series, and Devon Conway has been sidelined by a concussion (see our 2nd ODI preview). Daryl Mitchell made 55 in Wellington and has been their most reliable batter, and captain Mitchell Santner also got runs there. Blair Tickner was ruled out of the rest of the second ODI after being hit on the helmet, with Matt Fisher coming in as a concussion substitute.

Like India, New Zealand will split their squad after this match, with the Test players leaving to prepare for the red-ball series.

Three things to watch

1. The toss and the first hour. If the pitch has sweated under covers, the side bowling first may again get early seam movement.
2. India's top order against the new ball. Gill and Kohli both fell cheaply in Wellington, and India were 113 for 7 when the rain came.
3. Whether Hamilton plays differently. Seddon Park hosted the 5th T20I on 1 November. A truer ODI surface would test India's seamers in a different way.

Scores from the first two games are on our NZ vs IND ODI series results page.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo (Karthik Krishnaswamy, 7-8 Nov 2026) for the groundsman's comments and series bowling data; The Indian Express for the schedule, squads and broadcast details; Cover Drive's match reports for the first two ODIs.