Mahendra Dhoni called on his batting ranks to put in an improved performance in Wednesday's tri-series clash against New Zealand in Dambulla, where the teams will duke it out for a berth in Saturday's final against Sri Lanka.

India have capitulated to a couple of woeful scores in the tournament thus far, with 88 all out in the series opener against the Kiwis followed by 103 all out in Sunday's clash against the hosts.

"One thing we can't deny is that we have had two batting failures and we have to rectify the problem, get on the wicket and try to score some runs," insisted the Indian captain, who asked for a more aggressive approach from his batsmen.

"Most of the batsmen are trying to battle through and there are times when you can't do that. If you get eight or 10 runs off five overs, it doesn't really help you. You have to be brave enough to play your big shots or challenge the bowler. You have to keep speculating and you have to try and make a way through the opposition."

While India's top-order has taken a bit of a knock through the absence of the injured Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma's ongoing struggles in the middle-order are a major cause for concern for India.

With rookie Saurabh Tiwary breathing down Rohit's neck for a place in the side, the off-colour right-hander has strung together paltry scores of four, zero and 11 in the series thus far.

"It's a tricky situation for Sharma. There's pressure when you are always in and out of the side. He is working hard and his fitness has improved a lot," added Dhoni.

Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Ross Taylor has related to India's batting woes, but won't underestimate a team renowned for its top-order firepower.

"I think every top order has struggled, I guess their batting is under pressure but I would say even we were under a bit of pressure," said Taylor.

"I think it almost makes them dangerous, they didn't play that well against us in the first game, and then they came back and played well against Sri Lanka. Obviously they didn't play as well as they would have liked to play against Sri Lanka in the last match. That makes them dangerous."

All-rounder Kane Williamson is a fitness concern for the Black Caps ahead of Wednesday's decider.

"Kane has got a bit of bicep injury and he will be under observation. He did not bowl or throw at practice. We will have to wait and see how it goes. And if he gets through that, we will just have to wait and see on selection," concluded Taylor.

Jacob's Oram's recurrent knee injury has acted up again, ruling the New Zealand all-rounder out of proceedings in Dambulla and putting him in doubt for the Champions League.

The Central Districts star will see a specialist in Auckland on Thursday in order to ascertain the severity of the injury, which flared up at training on Tuesday.

"Jacob's knee has been troublesome for some time. He's been having niggles on and off with it for a reasonable period of time," lamented Central Districts coach Alan Hunt.

"It has clearly flared up again in the last couple of days in Sri Lanka and they've tried to treat it over there without any success.

"No doubt they've done everything they can to improve the situation but found they better get him back here for a medical opinion and some rehabilitation, thinking long-term towards the World Cup in February and March."

The Central Stags depart for South Africa on September for their debut Champions League campaign.