New Zealand Opts to Bowl First in Final T20 Against India in Hamilton
New Zealand wins the toss and chooses to bowl first in the final T20 match against India, who lead the series 3-1.
Hamilton, November 1 (Daily Kiran) : The final match of the T20 series between India and New Zealand is taking place at Sedon Park in Hamilton. New Zealand has won the toss and opted to bowl first.
After winning the toss, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner expressed surprise, stating, “I thought I would lose the toss. We will bowl first. It’s a new pitch, and there might be some dew later. We need to establish balance early on. If there’s a bounce like at Eden Park, it will be beneficial. Our batting has been strong throughout the series. The fast bowlers received support in the last match. There’s one change in the team, as Tickner returns.”
Indian captain Shreyas Iyer remarked, “It’s a great opportunity to play at this historic ground. We wanted to bat first and test ourselves. Things were different in Auckland, where Phillips played a fantastic innings. We have made two changes for this match, with Varun and Bhuvneshwar coming back.”
India leads the series 3-1, having secured the trophy by winning the first three matches. In the fourth T20, New Zealand made a strong comeback, defeating India by 87 runs. Now, India aims to return to winning ways, while New Zealand seeks to maintain their momentum.
India’s playing XI: Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevan Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner.
New Zealand’s playing XI: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dheer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
