New Zealand opted to bowl against India
We chose Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, famous for Tom Latham winning a draw and scoring many points. Jacob Duffy, a swing bowler but not a fast player, replaced Henry Shipley for the New Zealand side, who lost the first two games. It meant they kept their faith in third place Henry Nichols.
Rohit Sharma said he would have hit first anyway as it would be difficult to defend on such a small ground and he wanted to put his team in a tougher situation. After deciding to bat first, India presented Spinner with a big challenge when he picked three in the XI. India’s two in-form bowlers, Mohammed Siraj and Mohamed Shami, rested for Umran Malik and Yuzvendra Chahal. It will be the third time since the 2019 World Championships that both Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have qualified for India’s ODI-XI.
India’s Rahul his Dravid coach suggested the February Test he could rest the fast bowlers facing Australia in the series.
India have already won the series 2-0 with him, but today’s match puts him at stake in the ICC’s top ODI ranking. New Zealand were at the top of the table early in the series, but the win will see India overtake England for the top spot.
India 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ishan Kishan (wk), 5 Suryakumar Yadav, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik
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 Jacob Duffy, 10 Blair Tickner, 11 Lockie Ferguson