• India win the toss and opt to bat against New Zealand
• This is the first one-day international.
• New Zealand call up Henry Nicholls for Kane Williamson.

IND vs NZ: India won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in the opening ODI of the series. New Zealand claimed that had they lost the toss, they would have chosen to bowl first. This was another example of India pushing themselves by bowling at night.

With KL Rahul and Axar Patel taking a vacation, India was always going to look different. The major news was Shardul Thakur’s return and immediate inclusion into the starting XI to offer them some batting depth, which made their selection dilemma easier due to Shreyas Iyer’s injury. Washington Sundar replaced Axar, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav were both elected, and Thakur was elected ahead of Umran Malik.

With Kane Williamson and Tim Southee resting, and Ish Sodhi ailing, New Zealand called up Henry Nicholls. Lockie Ferguson, Henry Shipley, and Blair Tickner were their three fast bowlers, with Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell handling the spin. The allrounder was Daryl Mitchell. They had depth in both categories, with five frontline bowlers and Mitchell to back them up, and with Shipley batting at No. 9.

Lineups

India: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Ishan Kishan (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 10 Mohammed Siraj

Advertisement

New Zealand: 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Henry Nicholls, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (capt. & wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Henry Shipley, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Blair Tickner

Also Read

IND vs NZ: Mitchell Santner to lead New Zealand squad in T20Is

Ben Lister has been selected for  New Zealand T20I squad that will...