Ahmedabad, Feb 1 (IANS) India captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bat first against New Zealand in the third and final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium, here on Wednesday.
India, who won the last game, made one change in their playing XI as Umran Malik came in for Yuzvendra Chahal.
“We’re going to bat first. Want to put up some runs and take the game from there. Looks like a very good wicket, we played here in the IPL final where the ball did a bit more in the second innings,” said Hardik at the toss.
“Tough on the batters in the last two games, but credit to them for the approach they have shown. This is what as a unit we strive for, we are going to get tested but we will learn from it. These kinds of knockout games teach you a lot. One change — Umran comes in for Yuzi because this surface looks like it will help the fast bowlers,” he added.
On the other hand, the Mitch Santner-led New Zealand also made one change with Ben Lister replacing Jacob Duffy.
“We were going to bowl first, looks like a good surface either way. Lucknow was a challenging surface, maybe 120 would have done the trick. But we have to adapt,” said Santner.
“Great experience to play here, it is my first time here. Doesn’t get any bigger than this with the series on the line. Both surfaces so far were very different, but today we need the boys to adapt to the bigger boundaries. This should be a good challenge. One change for us – Ben Lister in for Jacob Duffy,” he added.
Playing XIs:
India: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Blair Tickner
–IANS
ak/bsk
