Both teams made one change each as India replaced Ishant Sharma with Varun Aaron and hosts New Zealand bring in Hamish Bennett in place of Kyle Mills.
Their campaign in tatters after two consecutive defeats, India need to regroup quickly and find the right combination against a gutsy New Zealand.
Down 0-2 and having lost the world no. 1 tag, the Indian team needs to make amends and stamp their authority in what will be their last chance to make a come back into the five-match series.
If Dhoni's men fail to win on Saturday, it will be their second consecutive series loss after South Africa outside the subcontinent.
The visitors lost the first ODI at Napier by 24 runs and then went down in the second one-dayer by 15 runs (D/L method) at Hamilton, which dethroned India from the number one ranking in the ODIs.
Overall, Dhoni and Co. have lost four of their last five one-dayers, all of which were played outside the sub-continent. This has undoubtedly opened up a number of points for the concerned team to ponder upon.
Even as the visiting camp may seem chaotic, the hosts are particularly calm and composed.
Since New Zealand have a cushion of two victories going ahead, they will be looking to close-out the series in the third match itself, given that the fourth ODI is again in Hamilton where the square is arguably slower.
While windy Wellington could be fairly unpredictable for a series finale.
Teams:
India: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Aaron.
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (capt), Corey Anderson, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Hamish Bennett, Luke Ronchi (wk).
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