In a do-or-die tie, India lock horns with New Zealand as Hardik Pandya-led side won the toss and opted to bat first in the third and the final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 1 (Wednesday).
Hardik dropped Yuzvendra Chahal from India's Playing XI to include speed express Umran Malik for the series decider.
“We're going to bat first. Want to put 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. 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 kind of knockout games teach you a lot. One change - Umran comes in for Yuzi,” India skipper Hardik said after winning the toss.
Meanwhile, Kiwi captain Mitch Santner said,"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. 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."
It is worth noting that India haven't lost a single bilateral T20I series on home soil in their last 12 outings. Meanwhile, New Zealand have a chance at a rare series win in India - something that no travelling team has managed to achieve since Australia, 2019.
The visitors won the series opener by 21 runs but were held back in the second T20I as the Men in Blue clinched the issue in a low-scoring thriller.
Pitch Report
"The outfield and the ground itself looks an absolute picture. 67 meters one side, 71 on the other and 72 downtown. There have been a couple of pitches where the batters have had to work hard, but this clearly looks good. There might be a few brown spots on the pitch but they will only get better. Because of the nice even covering of grass the ball will come on and as the evening progresses will keep getting better. It is a bowl first pitch because of some dew around," former cricketers Danny Morrison and Ajit Agarkar analyse the pitch.
India's Playing XI: 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's Playing XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Blair Tickner.
