India are playing New Zealand in the third T20 International on Tuesday, November 22.
The Hardik Pandya-led team won the second T20I by 65 runs. The first T20I was washed away due to rain. India currently lead the series 1-0.
India are resting their big players in the series. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested as has team head coach Rahul Dravid. Hardik Pandya, 29, is leading the squad this series.
India are recuperating from being knocked out of the T20 World Cup. The Men-in-Blue fought well until they were outplayed by England in the semi-finals.
The third ODI, the series-decider, is being played in Napier, New Zealand. The pitch is expected to help batters, especially in the first innings. Pacers may find some comfort in the later half of the batch.
The team batting first will look to score over 180 runs on this pitch. The average score batting-first at this pitch is 182 runs.
Winning the toss, New Zealand captain Tim Southee said: “We will bat. Looks like a pitch where we can put the runs on the board. We can’t really control the weather, but the history of this ground suggests good batting conditions. Our bowling the other night wasn’t the best, but credit to Sky. Mark Chapman comes in straightaway. You look back at places where we can improve as a team.”
Hardik Pandya, whose team will field first, said: “We wanted to bowl first anyway, so we got what we wanted. I think the pitch will remain the same for the entire 40 overs, but with the grass on it, there could be some lateral movement for our pacers. We do keep the dimensions in mind, but we do the skill-set in our bowling line-up. We can’t think too much about the conditions – One change, Harshal comes in place of Washington Sundar.”
India vs New Zealand Playing XI
India (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya(c), Deepak Hooda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee(c), Lockie Ferguson.
