Despite three crushing losses at the hands of India, the Blackcaps aren't that far away from a complete performance.
That's the view of spinning all-rounder Mitchell Santner, who told media on Wednesday that positive signs were there.
Finding positives in a ODI series that has resulted in three devastating losses, including a seven-wicket hammering at Bay Oval on Monday, may seem like a hard sell to Blackcaps fans.
But Santner thinks the home side are close to turning those results around, if they execute slightly better - with both ball and bat.
"We have been outplayed in all three games," Santner notes. "It's been a little bit disappointing to lose three games in a row, but we are playing a very good side.
"India has shown just how good they are in all conditions. We have not been good enough, but there are signs there that we are getting better.
"We saw a great partnership in the previous game and I thought we were much better with the ball. It just needs to be a continuation of what we have been doing.
"We have got two pretty important games coming up. Hopefully, we can win this one here and move onto Wellington with some momentum."
Santner and fellow spin twin Ish Sodhi have been thoroughly outbowled by Indian pair Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who have taken eight and six wickets respectively across the three games.
Santner and Sodhi have managed to snare just one Indian scalp between them.
The Blackcaps selectors replaced Sodhi with fellow leg-spin bowler Todd Astle for the final two games in a hope to change their fortunes
Santner credited the Indian duo for their success, but hoped a return to form for the New Zealand top order would create the pressure needed to stifle the threat Yadav and Chahal pose.
"They are bowling very well at the moment," Santner says. "The slower pace that they bowl is tending to get a little bit more out of the wicket than guys like myself and Ish, who bowl a little bit quicker.
"But that pressure is also being built off the back of the starts we have had [with the bat]. We have always been two down after 10 [overs], allowing them to settle into their work.
"On the flip side, they [India] have been one or even none down at the end of the power play, which makes it tough to build pressure, when they can just milk us around a bit."
The final two games of the series are in Hamilton on Thursday, followed by a trip to Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Sunday.
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Join us at 3pm Thursday for live updates of the fourth Blackcaps vs India ODI at Hamilton.
